Shadows of Maria
by MaverickKayPrime
Summary: She owned him. He would do anything for her. Climb any mountain, fight any foe, face any force! But... she never truly, owned him. She may have owned his mind, his body, his soul, but not his heart. For, you see, that still belonged to another. And no matter how much she tried, she would never pry it away from... her...
1. Morning Apocalypse

_Well, ain't this a shocker?_

_Well, here we are, in the sequel to Shadows of Hope. As of now, that story is the most read one I've written, only being beaten out by my other story, Casscadian Kings, which, honestly, was written first.  
_

_Well, here is the introduction, if you will. I never enjoyed reading sequels on Fanfic, because it usually forced me to read some other story or two... or three... or four, in some cases. Anyway, I just didn't like them. Oddly enough, I got such pleasant reactions to my stories, I would find myself thinking up possible sequels and such. So, here we are, in the sequel to Shadows of Hope, preparing for another read. I wanted to hold off on this, but I just enjoy writing way to much, soooo... yeah..._

_Any who, tell me what you think, whether you be new to this series or not. Wait, should I call it a series? There's only two stories... It ain't a trilogy soooo..._

_Well, if you're new, you don't have to read Shadows of Hope, but it would definitely help... in fact, go and read it, at least the last chapter._

_And for my fans of the original, tell me what you think, and if I should continue writing this story. We'll see what happens._

_Maverick Kay Prime_

* * *

Morning Apocalypse

His starfish like body quaked.

Scratches, dents, cuts, all kinds of bruises, were on his body. His singular, red, pulsating eye, stared intently into the snowing sky. He couldn't talk... the time for talking had ended.

How long had he lied here? How did he end up here? What happened? And why... why did his mind run wild with thoughts of that blasted hedgehog that caused all of this pain!?

"Shadow..." he grumbled, through his invisible lips.

No answer, of course. He couldn't feel anything. What was there left to feel? Why should he feel? He had been defeated. The greatest force in the universe, the Black Arms, stopped by a hedgehog. Stopped by his... _son_...

He once again shook. The entire genocide of the human race, it was ended, by someone of his own blood. He couldn't believe it. His blood, betrayed him... _him_...

No... it wasn't Shadow... it was those blasted Chaos Emeralds. He underestimated them. He thought they were useless rocks. But they were more than that. They gave Shadow the power to defeat him. The power to... _kill_ him...

But he wasn't dead.

The world's... nay, the _galaxy's_ greatest battle was waged, with him on the loosing side. And he survived it. He survived the force that could topple gods.

But what was the point? He was stuck here, in this cold atmosphere, freezing to death. How had he fallen here? Was he not just above Central City, battling Shadow? Or was it Westopolis? Could it have been Launch Base Zone? No... that place is on Angel Island.

It mattered not. He was dying. No one was here to rescue him. He was doomed.

Doooooooooooooooooooooooooooooomed.

Black Doom.

He can't meet his own doom. He is Doom. He is... Black Doom.

"Black Arms..." he grumbled, his voice pained, "To... me..."

Nothing answered him. He couldn't feel there presence. In fact, he couldn't feel the Black Comet's presence. He couldn't feel it... it was gone...

"Black Arms... To... me..."

Why was he trying? They wouldn't answer him, of course. How can something dead, give back an answer? His eye shot left. His eye shot right. Any answer... he would take it... he needed an answer.

"Well, well, well," a voice called, "look who's here..."

...

Her blue eyes opened up. His light blue sheets covered her body as she took in the sights. Waking up at this time of night... she never recognized how dark it got. It was dark... really really dark. Much like him but... it couldn't have been purposeful. Could it have?

His bare hand found her head, and sent waves of warmth through her body. Slowly, her cheek found his chest, and her demeanor shifted. No longer caring about the dark night, she focused on his rhythmic heartbeats.

Thump...

Thump...

Thump...

Was this so wrong? Their relationship. Was it so wrong to have one like this? She shouldn't care, he had told her this but... she just couldn't help but to think about it. Was the relationship they shared so wrong and horrible?

Here fifteen year old Hope Kintobor laid. In the bed, of Shadow the hedgehog.

His arms were wrapped around her body, as if pressing her up to him. She laid her head in his chest in a defensive manner, as if awaiting something. He was asleep, those ruby eyes closed, while she laid awake. Why? You may ask? Well...

Shadow was dreaming again...

And as simple as that sounds, its stranger when it comes to Shadow. The black hedgehog that she loves...

He sleep talks...

He clinched onto Hope, and pulled her closer. She gained a slight blush at the feeling, as her ear lied firmly on his pulsating chest.

Thump...

Thump..

Thump...

His fur against her bare skin made her feel warm. She let a sigh out from the feeling, and her finger started to caress his black blades. She felt like crap, right now. And it was for one specific reason.

"Maria..." he murmured, holding close Hope.

Yes... Maria... Ever since this relationship started, he started going on about her, in his sleep. He never realized it, however. When he awoke from his dreams, he would go on, as if he had never dreamed in the first place. She tried confronting him about it before, but he merely shook it off. It was like a night terror. He would have these intense emotions in the night, and then when he awoke, he would never make reference to it. Hope wasn't sure if he was doing this on purpose, or if he really didn't remember. It didn't matter though...

"Maria..." he whispered again, his grip loosening, "Maria..."

Maria this, Maria that. In all honesty, that name was beginning to kill Hope. She had never met Maria, and she knew this wasn't her fault, but damn! It was like a broken radio! Every other night, he would call out her name, like an anthem. A call, if you will. But she knew better. She was a genius after all. It wasn't because Shadow was calling out Maria. It was completely different.

Shadow's night terrors were always different. By that, I mean, it isn't always just Maria.

Times at night, he's called out different people. Black Doom, in anger, Gerald, in reverence, and even Rouge. But never... never once... did he call out Hope's name.

That irked her to no end. Always someone, but never Hope. Not once had he called out her name. It must have been jealousy that drove her thoughts. Yes... Hope was jealous.

"Hope?" he whispered, catching her eyes.

She looked up into his ruby orbs, as they glistened in the night sky. Of course, he didn't say her name in his dreams.

"Hope," he said again, giving a yawn, "are you okay?"

She nodded, though this nod belied another feeling. She was pissed off.

"I'm fine, Shadow," she lied, "you just woke me up is all."

He nodded, while his lips grew into his usual indifferent scowl. Seconds later, his fingers found her blonde hair, and he started stroking it. Somehow, that calmed her down. His black and red, ungloved fingers, moved up and through her golden strands. Hope let a sigh escape her, and she placed her head into his furry chest. Still... those feelings remained...

Maria, Maria...

She said it in her head so annoyed like.

Maria, Maria, Miss Perfect Maria! She needed a breather...

Shadow returned to sleep quickly, as he usually does. He hadn't started calling out _her_ name yet, fortunately enough. She didn't want to hear that name again.

She removed herself from his grasp gently, as to not disturb his slumber. Her dainty feet tipped over the side of the bed then, and she merely sat there. In the darkness, she couldn't even see the shirt she was wearing. Still, she was sure it was dingy and dirty. Omega's fluids got on her today... _ill..._

But enough thinking about that. She stood up from the bed, and started to trek out of the room. With expert moving and precise timing, she dodged the books that lied on Shadow's floor. She had... done this before. She came to the door moments later, and opened it up. The cold air of the halls rushed passed her, while also carrying a slumbering call.

"Maria..." he groaned.

She shot her dark lover an annoyed glare, before stepping out of the room. Down the hall she walked, without even thinking of where to go. She just needed some fresh air, is all. But damn, those thoughts about Maria clouded her mind. Always Maria, why not her? And boy, did it ever anger her, when Shadow called out someone else's name. Like, sorta like... _hers..._

"Good evening, sweetie..." the sultry bat's voice called.

Hope was caught off guard by the call, but she didn't lock up. Living with Team Dark for the past two months had gotten her conditioned to such things. She spun around instead, only to be met with empty halls. Gazing skyward, she found the speaker.

Her silver hair hung off from the ceiling, covering much of her face. Regardless, the figure and the form was the same. A certain bat, hung upside down.

"Uh... hi, Rouge..." Hope answered, covering herself.

The bat performed a flip, spun in the air, and landed safely on her feet. Turning over to Hope, she removed the silver blades of hair from her eyes, and gazed at Hope with glowing teal eyes. But not before taking in the girl's clothing, of course. Much akin to her tomboyish nature, the girl stood in a white t-shirt, one stained with milk stains and other such substances, as well as underwear suitable for a boy. Yeah... Rouge hadn't rubbed off on her as much as she liked when it came to clothing. Regardless...

"What's got you up tonight, sweetie?" she questioned, moving closer.

Rouge was someone Hope felt she could talk to. Sure, as stupid as it sounds, trusting a jewel thief, Hope did so without a second thought. Rouge had become sorta like a sister to her. Especially once all this Shadow business started. So far, only Rouge, Omega, Sonic, and Knuckles, know of the relationship Shadow and Hope have. Well... the mechanic is sure G.U.N. Commander knows, since he authorized her shift of residence, but... she's still not completely sure...

"Umm... Rouge," she called, laying her hands behind her back, "there's something... wrong with Shadow..."

The bat crossed her arms, as her teal eyes looked away with annoyance. She had heard this song and dance before.

"What's wrong this time?" she questioned, looking away.

Hope's eyes grew half closed. This, somehow, sent an invisible message over to Rouge, one she instantly got.

"Night terrors?" she said.

"Night terrors..." Hope confirmed.

Rouge knew all to well Shadow's night terrors. He started having them way back when he first began living here. When he and Hope became an item, however, they subsided. Strange, she never knew they came back.

"What do you think he dreams about?" Hope questioned, looking away.

"Only Shadow knows..." Rouge answered, gazing down the hall, "C'mon... let me get you something to drink..."

...

Where was he? Why did he feel such a strange sensation rushing through his body and quills? He couldn't see, nor could he hear. In fact, he couldn't even breathe. Air was being forced into his body via tubes, so... that was a solace... somewhat...

The only connection he had to the outside world was touch. He could feel himself, floating in side some strange goo. Odder still, he remembered being encased in this goo before. But he wasn't sure. He needed to see. He needed to make sure.

His ruby eyes opened.

Yes, he was in a strange goo, a green one at that. He remembered being in this same goo years before. He couldn't move, but he tried his hardest anyway. He felt a slight twitch in his fingers. They were... smaller...

Ruby eyes danced up and down the tube slowly, as he tried to come to terms with where he was.

Ark...

Home...

"Shadow? Are you awake yet?" a small, bubbly voice called.

Even through the green goo, he saw her. The door slid open, and running up, was this six-year-old girl. She had long blonde hair, wore a blue dress, and had a noticeable gap in her teeth.

Maria...

"I'm sorry it took me so long," she said with a distinct accent caused by her tooth gap, "I was working with my teachers and they just went on and on!"

She dropped her book bag on the metal floor, and started searching through it.

"I have so much Math today," she murmured, "and History, and English, and... I'm not sure what this is... uh... Bi-ah-loe-gee... Biology? Weird..."

Finally, she withdrew a picture. On it, a singular image drawn crudely with a crayon. Maria smiled at the photo, before grabbing a tape dispenser. She laid some tape on the pictures frame, and attached it on the capsule Shadow was trapped in.

"You see this?" she asked, "I drew it in art class..." she grew frail, "It gets so lonely in art class, Shadow... no one's around, and my teachers could probably care less about what I'm doing... I just think of you all day..."

She gave Shadow an enticing smile, as she started to twirl her hair.

"I guess you can say... I kinda... like you, Shadow the hedgehog..."

His hand stretched forward, and laid on the capsule's glass. Maria flinched at the sudden movement.

He remembered this. Yes... despite everything, he could remember this...

This was his... This was _Shadow's_... first movement...

...

Sun rays, peering in the window. It awoke him. His ruby eyes opened up, as an unhappy growl came with him. Tired, haggard, and exhausted, he truly didn't feel like getting up.

Today, was just gonna be, another day.

He moved his hand up and down his bed sheets, as he noticed a distinct lacking detail.

"Hope?" he questioned, lurching up.

Odd... She was always there, to brighten up his morning with her smile. He had come to look forward to that gaze but... as she was not here, it was lacking. That made a pit swell up in his heart. Regardless, he looked around, unphased by his partner's disappearance. Maybe she was away for a while... or maybe he annoyed her with his night terrors again. That is, if he really had night terrors. Yeah, he still doesn't believe he has those.

He stood up from his bed, and slung his naked feet over the side of his bed. At his toes, his ever beloved air shoes. He slid them on quickly, while a yawn accompanied his actions. Ever the stoic one, he made almost no sounds as he trekked the floors of his room. Upon coming to his drawers, he grabbed the white and red gloves from the furniture's surface. In a blinding flash of light, he slipped on the gloves. His inhibitor rings attached to the wrists, he took the time out to gaze at them. He saw his own reflection.

Still, he had the normal morning rituals to go through. The shower, the toothbrush, ya'know, the usual. His feet took him out of the room, and to the halls, where it then took him to the bathroom.

But he couldn't open the door. Shadow felt an odd twitch echo in his ears, as he felt like he was being... tugged by something. His attention shifted, toward the halls edge. For some strange reason, he felt like he should get the newspaper this day.

Making sure the coast was free of Rouge, Omega, and, especially, Hope, he dashed off in a yellow streak. Through the living room, and down the stairs, he finally came to Club Rouge's entrance. With a low yawn, he gazed out of Club Rouge's glass doors, and to the news box outside. He shuffled through the floors of the club, eventually finding a quarter, and made his way forward. Sure, he could have easily searched up the times on the internet, but the hedgehog just enjoys reading things, the natural way.

He moved through the glass door, stepped up to the box, slid in his quarter, and moved his hand to the handle.

"Hello, are you Shadow the hedgehog?" Maria's voice called from aside.

He nearly choked.


	2. Rivet Tales

Rivet Tales

There she was, standing before him.

Her hands intertwined with one another.

Blue eyes shining.

Blonde hair, long, sharp, and curly.

Blue blouse, waving in the wind.

Blue boots, hiked up.

And this smile. This beautiful, wonderful, smile.

"Hi," she said, her voice, just like _hers,_ "you are, Shadow, right?"

He was at a lost for words. How does one react to what he were seeing?

"Um..." she was growing embarrassed, "I'm sorry, if I intruded, today..." she looked away, not being able to take his ruby eyes, "I'm... Maria Rivet..."

Did... Did... Did he just hear that? Maria Rivet? Who was this hedgehog before him?

Yes, she was a hedgehog. As different as she was, she still retained the beauty of a friend long gone. The blouse she wore, while similar, was changed to match her mobian appearance. Her boots also made sense, as mobian girls seem to enjoy wearing the shoe ware. Not only that, but she had a blue bland in her hair, just like... _her._

Was Shadow seeing this? Was this mobian before him real? Was he dreaming this? Was he still in bed, cradling his dear Hope in his arms? Was he just waiting for her kisses to wake him up?

No... he wasn't. He was awake. And here was this hedgehog before him, claiming her name is Maria _Rivet_.

He pulled back, unsure of what exactly he was looking at. Maria Rivet took note of this, as she suddenly started to show the emotions known as embarrassment and anxiety.

"I was just, I mean I heard..." she was stammering, while the blush on her face was growing, "What I'm trying to say is," she looked at him, "I'm... a big fan of yours, and... I moved over to Night Babylon not to long ago, and heard you lived here... I just..."

Boy, did she sound like Maria. But, oh yeah, that's right, her name is Maria. That's not what he meant though. She sounded exactly like _his _Maria. Like... _his_... Maria...

The blonde hedgehog before him started to look down, as the embarrassment she was feeling grew to near unbearable heights. She even had Maria's timidness. The hedgehog started to twiddle her fingers, while at the same time moving her feet. She was like some kind of schoolgirl.

"I'm, I'm sorry!" she suddenly yelled out, "I'm being so childish..." she looked up, "Shadow!"

And yet, his ruby eyes remained locked forward.

Then he spoke.

"Who are you?" he questioned, not knowing if the being before him was real or not.

"I'm sorry," she apologized again, "I... I... intruded on your morning business, didn't I?"

Suddenly, he was upon her. His gloved hands grabbed her shoulder's, and began tightening their grip. This... Maria Rivet, let out a gasp, as she froze up immediately. Her blue eyes looked forward, and all she saw staring back was his ruby ones. He was angry, if that wasn't noticeable yet. His eyebrows bent down, ruby eyes aflame, and mouth closed in an unhappy curl. He wasn't happy, obviously enough.

"Who... are... you?" he said, slower this time.

"Ah, please," she said, "let go..."

Shadow twitched. Her voice was so innocent... so weak... As angered as he was by this ghostly mirror, it all melted away at this hedgehog's fear. She just looked at him, shivering in his powerful hands. Shadow suddenly felt horrible. How could he have hurt Maria like this? But... no... this wasn't Maria.

Regardless, he let go. Stepping back, he just kept his ruby eyes trained forward.

"You better tell me who you are, and now." he demanded, his voice still retaining its threatening tone.

The hedgehog's face never moved from fear. Nevertheless, she remained. Rubbing her gloved hands against her shoulders, she got the strength to speak. Her blue eyes fluttered open, and she gazed forward.

"I'm sorry if I... angered you..." every time she apologized, it reminded him more of _her,_ "I'm just a fan... I just wanted to talk to you..."

Just a fan. Shadow had no idea how to react to such a statement. Fans... as far as he was concerned, he never had fans before... or did he? Most people were to afraid of him, and he was sure his fans would just be fellow G.U.N. agents. Wow... thinking about having fans made his head hurt.

But, this was the moniker this... Maria Rivet, was going by. She was his fan.

"I... saw you, that one day... when the Black Arms attacked..." she whispered, twiddling her fingers once again, "I... you... sorta saved me..."

Had he saved her? No... if he saved someone like her, he would have surely remembered it. Then again, the Black Arms invasion was always a touchy subject for him. Maybe he did, and just couldn't remember it. That sounds about right.

"I was... living in Westopolis, at the time, when... I saw you... you were fighting the aliens with Sonic and..." she suddenly grew frail, "I'm sorry! I'm... wasting your time..."

Her eyes moved down, as her hand found their way to her quills. Naturally, she started brushing her golden blades back, as she pondered. Yes... even this was a quirk reminiscent of Maria.

"I'm... going to go off... back home... sorry for wasting your time..."

"Wait..." Shadow said, oddly enough.

Maria Rivet locked up at his words. He gazed into her blue eyes, and saw himself in their reflections. She even had _her _eyes.

"You said... you moved here, currently, right?"

What was he doing? Why was he talking? Who was this woman before him, and why... why did he feel like he was being moved to her will?

"Yes..." she answered, a faint smile growing, "Why?"

Her timidness was coming back, but it was back by a certain flirtatiousness. She twirled her blonde girls, shifted to her tip toes, and bent down in a certain way. These movements would be at home with Rouge, not Maria. And yet...

"Do you need help?" he questioned.

"Help with what?"

He crossed his arms and looked away.

"Do you need any help moving your things inside?" he said, a bit forcefully as well.

Maria's eyes brightened up. She hopped up and down on one foot, whilst clapping her hands together in a giddy manner. Almost immediately, however, she shifted her happy personality back to its timidness.

"Uh... thanks..." she said, embarrassed.

Shadow nodded.

"I... live in Northern Night Babylon... in one of their apartment buildings." she gave a smile... a... sultry one, "Maybe later you can help me..." suddenly, Shadow felt something slip into his quills, "Thanks, Shadow the hedgehog..."

Seconds later, Maria stepped off. A wave of her hand ceased any and all communication from Shadow, as she disappeared seconds later.

How long had Shadow been standing here? The morning sun was still up, and, as usual, Night Babylon's sidewalks were empty and desolate. Regardless... Shadow felt at a loss. He gazed up, and around the buildings around. Without thinking, he laid his hand in his quills, and lifted the sheet of paper Maria slipped into it. Pulling it out, his eyes read back a series of numbers. Her... phone number...

...

Hope's blue eyes gazed at her own reflection.

Funny, it was only a year ago where thoughts of Shadow were just that, _thoughts. _But now, everyday, she sleeps in his arms, in his bed. How she talked the G.U.N. Commander into letting her shift her living address to Club Rouge was a mystery to all, but she figured it had something to do with the Commander's near omniscient thinking. She was almost entirely convinced that he knew of her and Shadow's relationship. Yeah... he just... knows things...

Living in Club Rouge alongside the rest of Team Dark was also a harrowing experience. She got used to the loud music, Shadow's night terrors, Rouge's kleptomaniac nature, Omega's violent tendencies, and the usual call of G.U.N. duty, fairly quickly, however. It was worth it, in her eyes. To sleep with her hero. Though it became a normal occurrence, she still retained some bits of hero-worship toward him.

Where was her hero, by the way?

She stood in their room, cycling through clothing, as she pondered that thought. She came to bed not to long ago, only to find it empty. She figured he was in the bathroom, but she checked that not to long ago. So... where on Earth was he?

Lifting her coveted red shirt, she drapped it on her body, before grabbing her black overalls. Seconds later, that came on to, preparing her for her day. It was only ten AM, so she had a little time to burn before she and the rest of Team Dark had to go to work. Oh wait, that's right... the entire Team was one leave for a while, thanks to a certain... _issue_, that happened in a past mission. Oh well. Rouge would be making breakfast soon, so where ever Shadow was, he would show up soon, she was sure of that.

Before she left, she traveled her hand over her nightstand. Shining before her, covered in oil stains and dirt, was her trusty wrench.

That's when Shadow appeared.

She felt his presence immediately, and spun around to meet his gaze. She gave a smile, but her smile shifted into a question gaze, as she scanned Shadow's face. It indifferent scowl was replaced with confusion, fear, and shock. He stepped forward, laid his hands in his quills, and then fell face first into the bed. Hope was so confused, she didn't know what she to do. However, she leaped forward a second later, and held up the dark hedgehog.

"Shadow!" she cried, "Is everything alright?"

He shook his head in a no manner. That... couldn't be good... Hope opened her mouth to question his gesture, but she stopped when she heard him speaking.

"No way..." he murmured over and over again, "No way... No way... Impossible... Impossible..."

"Shadow," she said, finally gaining the courage to speak, "what's wrong?"

Her hand fell upon her shoulder. As soon as Hope's dainty finger's touched him, he shook her off violently. Hope let out a gasp from the sudden movement, while her blue eyes locked onto his dark frame. He didn't look at her, and instead kept his eyes locked onto nothing.

"I'm sorry..." he suddenly said.

Hope said nothing. In fact, she was terrified. Shadow had never done something like that before. What happened?

"Sh-Shadow?" she said, a slight studder, "What's wrong?"

She kept her distance, however.

Shadow stood up from the bed, while his arms crossed as usual. Her started shaking his head, as he was unsure of what he should do. As he closed his eyes, he just saw images of Maria Rivet. Everything about her screamed out Maria. Her face, her form. She may have been a hedgehog, but she was Maria all the same.

This had to have been a joke. Some sick, insane, malicious, joke.

"Shadow?" Hope said, her arms slumping over his shoulders, "What's wrong?"

Honestly, she was afraid. She didn't want Shadow to throw her off again, like he did last time, but this was what love is, right? Even though she was afraid he would hurt her, she loved him enough to face that fear.

"Tell me... what's wrong..." she pressed.

She started caressing his fur.

"Shadow..." she whispered, "Tell me, what's the matter?"

A low, slumbering moan exited his lips, as Hope's fingers bore down to his skin underneath. Even over his head, Hope could see Shadow's face. His angered expression was slowly melting down to a soft visage. He let out a warm sigh, as Hope's fingers gained strength.

Spending a year with Shadow taught the mechanic how to push his buttons, both figuratively and literally. Here she stood, twisting, twirling, and smoothing out Shadow's furry white chest, as his tensed up nature slowly boiled down. His arms fell, he started slumping over, and his angered expression eventually melted away. Hope herself let out a calm sigh, happy to see her beloved had calmed down himself.

"Now," she said, sultry-like, "tell me, Shadow... what is wrong?"

"Maria..." he answered.

Almost immediately, Hope's face grew angered.

Did he really just say that?

Her fingers loosened themselves, and ceased their touchy feeling nature. An unhappy groan came to Shadow's lips, as his lover's touches left him. Her turned to face Hope, but she wasn't having it. Her arms were crossed, as an annoyed glare shot from her eyes. Shadow, honestly, had no idea how to face such a look.

"You had better enjoy breakfast today!" Rouge's voice barked, "I spent the morning with Omega barking at me about it!"

The bat appeared at the lover's doorway, her ranting over. Instead of beginning a new, she just stared at the hedgehog and human girl, as they looked into each other's eyes. Rouge wasn't sure what was going on, but she knew it wasn't good. She just stared.

"Is... everything alright in here?" Rouge questioned.

"Yeeeeah..." Shadow slurred, "You said breakfast was ready, I'll be with you in a moment."

The bat nodded, though she knew something was up. And yet, she wasn't in the mood to press the subject. She just left the room, her wings flapping weakly. With Rouge gone, Shadow shifted his gaze back to Hope. It hadn't lost its intensity.

"Great..." he said, crossing his arms, "What's wrong, Hope?"

She shook her head.

Maria, Maria. And the worst part was, he wasn't even asleep this time. She could forgive nightly outbursts, Shadow had a hard life, but this was getting to the point of obsession.

"I can't believe you..." she murmured.

Shadow's eye bent up in confusion, as he analyzed Hope's words. Where did they come from?

"What do you mean?" he questioned, crossing his arms.

"I can't believe you..." she reiterated, and quite easily.

Now Shadow was really confused. Hope was speaking as if he knew what she was talking about. But, of course, he didn't. He just looked at her, with an awkward eye.

"I'm getting sick of this, Shadow..." she said, gaining vigor.

"Getting sick of what!?" he said back, raising his voice.

But Hope wouldn't please him with her words. Instead, she scoffed at him, and left the room. Shadow was left speechless. Did that really just happen? No, seriously, did it? What had he done, in such a short time, that drove Hope away? All he could remember doing, was mentioning Maria... what was wrong about that?

And to mention Maria. Now that he was calmed down, he could think harder on her, and try to come to terms with what he saw. Was that really Maria, down there? Of course not. The Maria he knew was a human, and she was dead. That... down there, that woman he had just met, was a hedgehog named Maria Rivet. _Not_ Maria Robotnik. But... everything about that Rivet girl was Maria. Her voice, her form, the awkward timidness in their talk, the blue eyes she had, the blue blouse she owned, even the blue band in her hair, all of it was exactly like Maria... _his _Maria... So... what the hell just happened? Who the hell did he just talk to? What does one do in this situation?

Ugh... it was hurting his head. Images of Maria was filling his thoughts, images of Maria Rivet was filling his thoughts, and images of Hope's angered expression was filling his thoughts.

Oddly enough. He could remember a time when Hope reminded him of Maria. He remembered when he first met her, and how he spent a few minutes relating the two. Now, obviously, he knows the two girls have nearly nothing in common with one another, save for their looks, and a few attributes. It still doesn't stop him from comparing, however.

Maybe that's what Hope was angry about. She had often scolded him on his night talks of Maria, but this was unwanted.

Maria...

Maria...

He shuffled out that piece of paper. His ruby eyes scanned the number on it.

...

Maria laid down on her piles of boxes.

A visage of pleasure was written on her face, as she held close her chest. Ah, she felt so good right now. She had met her hero, today. And, better yet, he was coming over soon! She didn't know how to feel!

"Mwoar?" a cat called.

Maria Rivet leaned up slowly, as she took the time out to see the near empty home. Everything was wide and spacious, as Maria had not yet begun unpacking her things. In fact, everything lied inside of its boxes.

"Mwoaaaar..." the cat called again.

Maria moved her head about, before her blue eyes met the frame of a feline. From head to toe it was black, with shining yellow eyes. Maria smiled at the smaller creäture, before scooping it up in her arms. The cheek of her muzzle met the cat, and she started rubbing against it cutely.

"Oh Selina," she said, "I had such a great day, today!"

"Meow?" she answered.

"Mmmmhhmmm!" she said, "The one and only Shadow the hedgehog."

"Me...ow?"

"Oh, stop being that way!"

Arms opening up, she dropped the feline to the ground, where it landed safely on its feet. Maria brushed her fingers along side the small cat's head, as she let out a happy sigh.

Yeah... today was perfect...

She made her way over to one of her windows, and gazed out. The sun was starting to set, meaning Night Babylon would start its daily routine of becoming a virtual haven of wrong. In fact, she could already see humans and mobians step out to begin.

Maria gave a smile at this sight... but it was no ordinary smile. Her eyes slanted down to near devil like proportions, while her lips curled into a faint smile.

Ah... earthlings... how weak they must be...

Her phone started ringing.

Reaching into her blouse's pocket, she pulled out the small black device. Her blue eyes gazed at the screen, where an unknown number looked back.

Maria smiled...

Her gloved hand pressed the button...

"Hello?" she asked.

* * *

_Well, there goes chapter two. I have something to say as of now._

_For my fans who thoroughly enjoyed my first story, and for those who are enjoying this one, I wish to ask of you something._

_First of all, I want to say that this story is going to be a bit more... romantic than the others. Yeah... especially since all of my other stories had always employed adventure, I just want some good old fashion, romance... sorta... you all can tell this story will have its share of damage._

_And now, the question. I've been mulling over the thought of this being a rated M story... Me never writing one, I want to get my feet wet, but... I don't know... what do you guys think?_

_Oh well, till the next chapter._

_Maverick Kay Prime_


	3. Jealousy

Jealousy

"Hope, wait!" Shadow called, his gloved hand stretching out of his doorway.

She didn't give him the time of day. Her blue eyes were already locked onto the halls she walked down.

"Hope!" he called again, but she ignored him, again.

"Hope..." he sounded so... hurt...

But... Damn that hedgehog. Maria, Maria... Maria...

"Hope, stop..." he said, grabbing a hold of her hand.

She tugged on her limb, trying her hardest to pry it from his grip, but he was always stronger. With a stern disposition, he held onto her wrist, not allowing her to move. She didn't look at him, no matter how much she pulled on her arm.

"Hope, tell me, what is the matter with you?"

How dare he have the audacity to question her? Was she the one waking people up in the middle of the night with his nightly outbursts? Was she the one who was constantly comparing him to someone else? Was she the one who couldn't let go of the past? Well... of course not...

She gained the strength to look at him, though she herself was not sure if it was from anger, or malice. And yet, gazing into his ruby eyes... She felt nothing but love for him...

But this love was offset by a certain growing malice.

"Let... go... Shadow..." she ordered.

The hedgehog's ears twitched at the command. Whether he was affected by it was unknown to the mechanic, yet he released his grip on her. Slowly, his arms moved themselves back into the crossed fashion they were known for. Hope, on the other hand, began rubbing her wrist, as if she were trying to remove Shadow's touch from it.

The couple stood silent in the hall for a few seconds after that. Shadow remained as stoic and as indifferent as usual, while Hope stood tall and adamant.

"Hope..."

His voice... it was calm... reassuring... soft... filled with concern.

Troubled... even...

"Shadow..." Hope responded.

Funny, this was, really... Now that Hope thought about... this was their first fight. And Shadow was completely in the dark about it.

"Please, Hope," he said, his facial features growing less haggard, "tell me... what did I do wrong?"

She said nothing as she glared at him. Maybe it was her fault... Shadow didn't deserve this... Maria was like a sister to him...

Perhaps something more...

Her body unconsciously let out a sigh. Yeah... she felt really bad...

"I'm sorry Shadow..." she said, looking down, "I... didn't mean what I said earlier... but..."

But?

"But?"

"Why Maria?" she questioned, "I asked you what was wrong, and you said... Maria..." her blue eyes shot holes into him, "Why Maria?"

Could he tell her? Could he tell her about the hedgehog who he had just met? It would be easy enough, just explain it all to her. Sure, she might call him silly, or worse yet, send him to a psychiatric ward for visualizing hedgehog versions of dead friends, but... at least he'd get it off of his chest.

Then why the hell didn't he tell her?

"Nothing," he said, waving his hand, "I... nothing..."

Hope tipped her head off at his words. That was odd. He called out Maria first, then he simply brushed it off? She would press the issue but... Shadow normally had his reasons.

"C'mon," he said, ending their conversation, "Rouge will be mad if we don't show up for breakfast."

As usual, the black and red hedgehog took head point, but not before latching his hand onto Hope's. The grab was so soft and tender, just as Hope had gotten used too. And yet, she couldn't help but to feel that something was off. As if... Shadow was holding something back from her.

But Shadow would never do that, would he? Sure, he may lock some parts of his past away, who doesn't? But he wouldn't keep something _that_ bad away from her... would he?

Because he loved her... Right?

No... Not... so right...

"Hey, Shadow," she said, breaking their grasp, "could you give me a second?"

His ruby eyes floated to her. Not understanding her need for space, but respecting it, he nodded. Seconds later he was gone via skating down the hall.

Hope let out a held in sigh after his leave.

Something... no... everything just felt so wrong all of a sudden. What was Shadow keeping from her? For some reason, that though ran inside her head over and over again. She knew that black hedgehog was keeping some secret, he couldn't fool her! She wasn't as foolish as she may have appeared.

It only took one word... and Hope was set off.

Maria... Maria... Maria...

At night, it was one thing, but in the day... it something completely different. Shadow wouldn't have said her name unless there was a specific reason behind it. There is a huge difference between the unconscious and the conscious mind, that what she believed.

What was that little hedgehog hiding from her?

She shuffled back into their bedroom. Blue eyes traveling up and down the walls, she searched for something... anything! She didn't know why, but she knew it was here. She knew she could find something relating to Shadow's deception.

But... Shadow would never deceive her. Then again, that's what she wanted to believe. People lie... she knew that now...

She moved about the room as her eyes took in every little detail. That's when the crackling of paper echoed under her shoes.

She looked down to said piece of paper. Odd... Shadow was so meticulous in keeping his room clean, so... why was this here? It was crumpled up, and thrown away, showing someone had gotten bored with the paper. Her hand stretched down to it, and she picked it up. Quickly, she smoothed out the wrinkles, causing the numbers inscribed on it to be visible.

A... phone number?

What was this doing here?

It had to have been fate, that lead her to the paper. It had to have been the strings of the furies that made her find this. Had this been any other place else, she would have just thrown away the paper without a second thought. But no... this wasn't just 'any other place,' this was her room. The room she shared with her beloved Shadow the hedgehog.

This was his...

She rolled it up slowly, and placed it in her overall pocket.

How dare he? How dare he hold something like this from her? And in _their_ own room, no less.

But... maybe... just maybe... she was over exaggerating this. Maybe this phone number was for some place, like a store, or a restaurant. But she knew better. She knew she was only trying to alleviate her mind of any pain. Well... sometimes the pain must have its way, so one can... move forward.

"Hope?" Shadow's voice called, "Are you coming?"

"I'll be there in a second!" she answered.

...

So... this is where she stood, err, crouched. On her knees, in the bed, the sheets covering half of her body. In her hands, the piece of paper that had been driving her mind throughout the entire day.

So far, the evening had been uneventful. Sure, she helped Omega with his targeting parameters, but other than that, she had been very lonely. She remained distant from Shadow for the most part, much to his confusion. And yet, he never said anything about that.

Why?

Well, it didn't matter. Maybe it was for the best that he decided not to investigate her shift in attitude. He did so all the time, why couldn't she for a change? Maybe it was karma that it was now he who got the cold shoulder. However, she needed to focus.

The paper had been on her mind all day. She wanted to call the number on it, but she couldn't muster the courage to do so. Every time she talked herself into reading the number, she instantly began wondering about the worse. She was afraid, afraid that her beloved Shadow may actually be holding something from her. He may have even been...

"Hope?" he called from the doorway to their room.

She gazed forward, to see the hedgehog wearing a silver vest and black bow tie. With the sun currently setting, it caused the approach of Club Rouge's eventual opening. Shadow was dressed because he had to work there today, simply enough.

With his eyes locked on the ground, he instinctively made his way toward the mirror in his room, whilst tightening his gloves on his fingers. Hope watched the hedgehog do this ever so slightly. She loved it when he wore those clothes.

"I might be working all night," he said, smoothing back his quills, "so I don't recommend you stay up for me tonight."

Hope giggled. As suspicious as she was around him today, she couldn't help but to feel calm for a bit.

"That is," he continued, his ruby eyes gazing back at her, "unless you... well... I know how much you love going to the floor. Maybe..." he tightened his bow tie, "Maybe I'll take some time off so we could dance... just for you..."

"I'll... think about it..." she answered.

Dancing was something Hope was never good at, but the fact that Shadow asked her if she wanted to made her feel... worth it, to put it lightly. Yet the thoughts of his treachery reared its ugly head in her thoughts once more.

_Sure, he may have been asking if she wanted to spend time together, but that may have been only to hide something from her._

Those thoughts hurt her. Just the image of Shadow holding something from her, pained her greatly.

He got closer, his ruby eyes locked on the sunset outdoor, and once he arrived to her position on the bed, he leaned forward. His eyes were closed, and his lips were made into an 'O'. But Hope couldn't meet him full way. She knew eventually she would have to kiss him but... she just couldn't...

Suddenly his eyes were opened, only to see her blue orbs gazing away.

"Hope?" he murmured, "What's wrong?"

She shook her head in a 'no' manner.

"Nothing Shadow..." she answered, "I just don't feel good today. I think I'll be going to bed early tonight."

Shadow pulled back, and his arms crossed over one another as per usual. He looked visibly hurt by her lack of a kiss, but he nodded in understanding nonetheless.

"I... pray you feel better, then..." he said.

It didn't take long for him to leave. He waved goodbye, closed the door behind him, and left the young mechanic to her own devices.

She didn't want to hurt Shadow like that. She didn't want to ignore his kiss. In fact, she hated how she had been distant this entire evening.

But he deserved it...

His treachery wouldn't last... not in her eyes... she needed to deal with it...

She got the power now. She glared away, and slowly reached her hand under their bed sheets. When it returned, it held a piece of paper. Hope grew deathly silent at the sight of the paper. Now... or never...

She lifted her phone.

Tap... Tap... Tap...

Pause...

Tap... Tap... Tap...

Pause...

Tap... Tap...

Pause... Silence...

Tap...

Pause...

Tap...

The phone started ringing. So far, she was praying whoever would be on the other end wouldn't answer.

The phone rang again. She had never been so terrified in her life... why?

The phone rang once more. For the love of God, how many times does a phone ring?

The phone rang a final time. Hope could feel her heart stop.

"Hello?" a voice on the other end called.

For the longest time in her life, Hope could only hear silence. The voice... it was a woman's voice. The tone was... caring... sweet... innocent... and a woman's...

"Hello?" the woman called again.

Hope remained silent. Up and down her room she glared. She could feel her heart race. Thump! Thump! Thump! It went in her chest, at great speeds. Covering her mouth, she started panting, as if she had run a mile.

"Helloooooo?" the voice called, showing hints of annoyance, "Uh... Maria Rivet here... anyone there?"

Maria?

Maria!?

MARIA!?

Did she just really hear that? Did the person on the other side really say her name was Maria Rivet? No, no, no... this was a lie... a joke... a sick prank.

"Huh... Wrong number, I suppose..." the woman said, "Sorry Selina... I thought it was him calling us..."

The phone went dead with a click.

Hope's grip on her cell phone faltered. It slipped from her hand, and fell to her bed in what felt like an eternity. It could have been an eternity, for all Hope cared. The pain was all the same. Her heart had stopped, and so did her life. She fell back on her bed, her head lying on her pillows, as she pondered what she just heard.

"No..." she whispered to herself, "No... not Shadow..."

This was nothing. It had to be. It had to be nothing but Hope's young, teenage mind playing tricks on her. She may have been a genius, but her hormones were still the same. Shadow wouldn't cheat on her. Shadow wouldn't lie to her. Shadow wouldn't betray her. If there was anyone who knew of things such as cheaters, liars, and betrayers, it was Shadow. And he would never be one... he _could _never be one... Right? Right?

Right?

Then why was this so hard to swallow? Why was this so hard to bear? The man that woman was referring to could have been anyone. The name she had could have been a coincidence. All of this could have been just one, huge, misunderstanding. But she couldn't accept that. She couldn't accept the man the woman was referring to as just anyone. She couldn't accept the name she owned as just a coincidence. She couldn't accept this as just one, huge, misunderstanding.

It was too much for her to take.

Hope didn't know when but... she was so happy to dip into the darkness that was sleep.

...

Her blue eyes fluttered open. The room was dark... pitch black dark... She couldn't see through the shadows, she couldn't see her own hands but... she could feel him.

Her dark lover... his fur brushing up against her skin... his arm, held around her shoulders and waist. Hadn't he told her he had to work late today? The music at Club Rouge hadn't died down yet, meaning the party was still active so... what was he doing here?

Was that just another lie?

She felt disgusted yet weak at the same time. She wanted to free herself from his grasp, but she couldn't muster the energy to break free. Her constant shaking did nothing to wake him, however, so she was stuck with him holding her tightly.

If she could see through the darkness, maybe she would have noticed something.

On the nightstand, beside their bed, was various bottles of medicine.

Well... she _did _say she wasn't feeling to good...


	4. Next

Next...

"Ah!"

She pulled up from her bed, a haggard expression on her dainty young face.

That was by far the worst sleep ever... EVER.

Hair frizzled, eyes red, body cracking with pain. Yeah... it was the pits...

All night, she just thought about Shadow, and that woman on the phone. She couldn't get her out of her head, and the worst part was, she had no idea who what she looked like. She just watched Shadow being coveted by this shaded figure, one without a face.

One that was a mobian...

That's the one characteristic that stood out in her nightmares. The woman Shadow was with, was a mobian. Why did Hope give her that body? Why did the woman have the body of a mobian.

She started rubbing her shoulders. The pain shooting through her body only showed just how terrible she treated herself the earlier night. Even with Shadow holding onto her, she tried her hardest to be defiant. And yet, not once did he wake up. He remained adamant, and held onto her, without the slightest sign that he was awake.

Hope hated that. She was having a terrible night, and Shadow hadn't even noticed. He never groaned to her, called out to her, or even rubbed her, to calm her down. All other nights, he would have done it. He had a near sixth-sense like ability when it came to understanding Hope. She could have been on the other side of town and sneezed, and some how, Shadow would have heard it. But not last night. Several times she called out to him, and he never made one movement. The most she got out of him, was a slight movement of his hands.

"Shadow?" she called out, head moving to and fro.

He wasn't here.

Gazing about the room, she saw nothing but their usual room. The full body mirror he had, the many books on the floor, the picture of Maria and Gerald on his wall, and... bottles of medicine on their nightstand.

She waved away the sight, as she gazed beyond the white bottles. Her hands moved to them, moved them out-of-the-way, and she looked upon the red machine that was the night clock.

"One?" she questioned, not believing her eyes.

Not once, in her entire life, had she ever woken up so late in the day. Now that she thought about it, the sun was shining at a greater hue. She glared out the window, covered her eyes, and analyzed the sky-high sun. Yup... it was one alright.

But where was Shadow? Her dark lover was nowhere to be seen. His shoes were gone, his gloves were too. The only thing that was living in this room right now was Hope, and she didn't feel to lively.

She tipped her feet over the side of her bed, and got to her toes ever so slowly. Almost immediately, she buckled under the pressure, and fell to the ground. What was happening to her? Why did she feel so weak? Regardless, she had to press on. She returned to her feet, and hugged onto her shoulders. For now, this would be the only warmth she got. She slipped on some slippers, shifted her attention toward the door, then marched off. Stepping pass the doorway, she felt the cold air of the hall rush by her. It wasn't a welcome change.

Through the halls she paced, in valiant search for her lover. The massive mansion halls were dead silent, with Rouge nor Omega showing any signs of existing. It was like her home had been devoid of life, and she was the last soul within it.

"Shadow!" she called out, her voice hoarse and dry.

She was shivering... why was she shivering? Was losing Shadow so painful, that it caused her body to go out of wack? It must have been, because that's what Hope was feeling.

"Shadow..." she murmured.

She eventually came to the mansion's main living room. It lead to a balcony, as well as had the stairs that lead to the club below. Hope smiled at the sight of the balcony, as the sun drenched area felt like a release from the dreary halls. Sliding the door open, she stepped out to the area. Feeling the sun against her skin, she felt exhilarated. As if, being empowered. That all faded away by the sound of giggling.

"I'm so happy you could show up, Shadow..."

Hope fell back, as if being punched. That voice... it was just like the one she heard on the phone.

...

Shadow gazed at the cup of tea before him. His head waving back and forth, he scanned it closely.

Here he sat, in the dining area of some french eatery. It was outdoors, and had umbrellas to stave off the white-hot sun. Sitting near a table, he had a very peculiar woman on the opposite side of him.

"Did you hear me?" Maria Rivet said, cocking her head.

"Yeah..." he commented, arms crossing, "I was just thinking..."

The blonde hedgehog giggled, as her hand came to the table. With a dainty demeanor, she grabbed a hold of her cup, and brought it too her lips. Peach lips met it, and she slowly sipped down the brown liquid. Was Shadow watching.

No... his ruby eyes were locked back onto his cup of tea. Maria pouted. However...

"Shadow, you don't look to well..." she inquired, "What's the matter?"

His eyes moved up to her. She was in no position to ask him of his life. But, damn, if she didn't sound like _his _Maria. He couldn't help but to say,

"Hope..."

Gazing at his reflection, in the tea he took in his many edges. But a scoffing noise caused him to twitch. Did Maria do that?

"Hope?" she said, her voice belying something, "Who's that?"

Shadow gazed up from his cup of tea, and took in Maria's blue orbs. Her finger laid on her cheek, as she gaze a questioning glance. Yeah... a scoffing noise... that wasn't from her.

"Hope's my..." his voice trailed off, "She's my..."

"Girlfriend?"

No... they were more than that... Besides, he'd never call her Hope 'girlfriend.'

"No," he answered, "she's my... Hope's my... Its... hard to explain..."

No it wasn't. They were an item, obviously enough, so why couldn't he say that? Because Shadow would never confirm to such rules.

"So... she's not your girlfriend..."

Her voice sounded... hopeful...

"I wouldn't call her my girlfriend but..."

Slowly, he took his cup. Taking the cup to his lips, he drank down the brown substance without a second thought. His ruby eyes floated to Maria, and he stood up from the table. Noticeably, his facial features softened.

"Thank you for your time, Miss Rivet..." he said with a polite bow, "But... I must be on my way..."

"Oh, so soon?" she said, feeling hurt.

He nodded.

"I enjoyed our morning together." he assured.

"Thank you, Shadow," she said, smiling, "but... when are you going to help me unpack my things?"

Though, by this point in time, his back was turned, he gave a slight smile. Arms crossed, he motioned for the exit.

"I'll be there... I promise..."

Without a second word, he stepped off for the eatery's exit. With a sultry gaze, Maria laid back in her chair, as she took in Shadow's leaving figure. A giggle soon accompanied her stare, before she turned her attention to the waitress.

"Is your lunch over?" she questioned.

"Huh? What?" she shifted her gaze down, and saw a good bit of cash, "Uh... yeah..."

Shadow had paid for it, like a true gentlemen. Maria handed the money to the waitress, though her eyes were locked on the sidewalk. He had already disappeared.

Yeah... he was so cool...

...

Hope couldn't take it. She fell back from the balcony's railing, and started to hug herself.

No no no! She did not just hear that! It was impossible! Impossible!

They were just over the street, and she heard all of it.

Maria Rivet was real. She was a yellow hedgehog, that wore a blue blouse. And she knew Shadow. The _him_ she mentioned on the phone was Shadow, Hope knew that now. And they appeared to be on good terms with one another.

It was wrong, all of it was so wrong. Who was that hedgehog down there, and how, why? Shadow would never have such a pleasant conversation with someone who wasn't close to him. And, as far as Hope knew, he couldn't have known that girl longer than a while so... who is she?

Who is Maria Rivet?

Hope wasn't sure if she were lucky or not, to hear that conversation. To her, it both made her feel relieved and pained. And yet, all of it made her feel unhappy. What had she done in her life to deserve this treatment?

_So... she's not your girlfriend..._ that blonde hedgehog said.

_I wouldn't call her my girlfriend, but..._ Shadow replied with.

She couldn't believe she had heard that. All of this, all of everything, it all felt too unrealistic, too painful, to be real.

Was she hearing this? Was the conversation between the two hedgehogs real? Or was this all merely a dream? Was she actually in bed, being cradled by her dark lover? Would it be soon that she will awake, and give her dark lover kisses to wake him up too?

No... she wasn't asleep, and this wasn't a dream. She was awake. But, oh God, she wished, she longed, to be asleep.

It was to much for her to take. Her eyes closed and... she started crying. Grabbing onto her knees, she cried and cried, as her face met her legs. The darkness that took her felt so good, as it alleviated some of the pain.

But not all of it.

She could see Shadow, in the darkness of her eyes, holding onto that blonde hedgehog. They were in such close proximity to one another. Holding one another's body's, muzzles so close. Kissing each other. Yes... In Hope's eyes, they were kissing.

"Why?" she groaned aloud, "Why?"

"Hope?" a robotic voice echoed from behind.

She didn't look at him, instead keeping her eyes closed shut. The footsteps of the mechanical behemoth boomed as he got closer and closer. Hope couldn't face him, however. He may have been a friend, but as far as she was concerned, this was her problem.

Then again, she could always use a shoulder to cry on.

"I'm never going to have a normal life, will I?"

The robot's footsteps ceased. Instead, his cybernetic body bent down. Hope felt his silver claw cradle her small body, and bring her close.

"Ummm... there there..." he said, his best attempts at comfort, "Please stop leaking fluids from your eyes..."

"Omega?" she said, eyes finally opening, "What did I do wrong?"

Silence came from the E-Series machine, as he pondered her words.

"As far as I am concerned," he said, red optics looking at her, "you have done nothing wrong, as of yet..."

"Then... what did I do to deserve this?" she questioned.

"Deserve what, sweetie?"

Over the balcony's edge, two bat wings appeared. They were followed up by a certain silver furred bat. In said bat's arms, pounds of precious jewels. In spite of the priceless jewels she held close to her chest, the bat was more interested in Hope's saddened demeanor. She flapped down to the balcony, and laid her jewels on one of its tables. Teal eyes moving back, she came over to Hope, who had not yet gotten to her feet.

"Hope, sweetie," she said, crouching, "why are you acting like this?"

Could she tell her? Could Hope tell Rouge? They were like sisters... in some weird... kind of way. But Hope couldn't gain the strength to tell her. She just said instead,

"Why does he hurt me like this?"

Rouge eyes widened in an annoyed gaze. She already knew...

"Is it Shadow again?" she questioned, not trying to hide her annoyance.

Hope nodded, as her lip began trembling.

"I don't know what to do..." Hope murmured, "Shadow's been... I've been..." she looked at Rouge, "Who is Maria Rivet?"

The bat gave a confused glance, as her mind started to ponder those words.

"Maria Rivet?" she said, honestly confused, "Never heard of her..."

"Rouge... I'm afraid Shadow's been... straying..."

The bat laughed. This was no normal laugh, however. She laughed and laughed, as if the girl had told the greatest joke in the world. Hope didn't know how to feel from this.

"Shadow's been straying?" she questioned, her voice still chuckling, "Hope, I think you hit your head earlier!"

"I'm being serious, Rouge!" she roared, "I think Shadow's being... unfaithful..."

Stopping her laughter, the bat could sense Hope's serious attitude. The mechanic wasn't kidding... she really felt like Shadow was lying about something.

"Hope," she said, "I'm sorry but... this sounds farfetched... You're really saying you believe Shadow may or may not be... cheating on you?"

"I..." Hope looked down, "I don't know what I believe... the evidence is there but... I just can't take it!"

The tears returning, she dove her head into her knees once more. Rouge wanted to help but... she didn't know what to do. Hope was really cracked up by all of this. The young mechanic so grieved by all of this, and Rouge was sure most of it stemmed from her mind. Shadow the hedgehog, cheating, yeah right, that's as believable as Sonic shooting someone.

To put it short, there were somethings in this world that was unlikely. That being one of them...

Still, Rouge had a crying teen on her arms, and she was unsure of how to calm her. Then again... she had one idea...

"Hey, Hope," she said, her voice growing friendly, "how 'bout... you and me... a girls night out, huh? You look like you could use it..."

The blonde girl gazed up to her batty friend. A girls night out? What was that? Though the meaning was in the words, the mechanic wasn't sure how she should feel about it. She needed to deal with Shadow, but... a release from all of this sounded like a good idea as well.

"A... girls night out?" she repeated.

"Mmmhmmm..."

"That... sounds nice..."

"See! You just need to live a little! Air out that head of yours! Once this is all said and done, you'll be able to think a bit clearly now..." she shifted her gaze to Omega, "Omega! If Shadow asks... tell him Hope and I went out."

"Affirmative!" he answered.

"Good!" the bat slung her arm around Hope, "Now come up, sweetie... let's get you dressed..."

It didn't take long for them to disappear in the halls of their home. Omega watched them, as his red optics took in the sights of Night Babylon's skyline. After a minute or two of this, he marched off into the home to do... Omega things... He didn't make it all that far before he was stopped.

"Omega..." Shadow's voice called.

The machine's head whirled around in a circle, before locking onto the smaller hedgehog. Shadow gazed at his behemoth friend, as his arms were crossed in their usual fashion. Omega nodded to confirm Shadow's presence, before he shifted his gaze elsewhere.

"Omega," Shadow called again, "has Hope woken up yet?"

The machine stopped.

"Affirmative," he replied, "but she is not here..."

"Where is she?" he questioned.

"Hope and Rouge have left for a... girls night out..."

"A what?" Shadow inquired, thoroughly confused.

"A Girls Night Out... from what the Wikipedia says, it is a gender-specific activity where women meet to engage in social activities."

"Please... stop..."

"Affirmative..."

"I was actually looking forward to seeing Hope today," he said, "she wasn't feeling to well last night... I took the night off early despite Rouge's words so I could tend to her. But Hope sleeps like a rock... she wouldn't take the medicine I brought for her." his arms slumped, "I was about to bring her to the park... she says she always feels better after a visit there... but..." he gave smiled, a faint one yes, but a smile nonetheless, "If Hope is feeling better... that's all I can care for..."

Tightening the gloves on his wrist, he shifted his attention for the exit stairs. Seconds later, he was gone in a blinding yellow flash. Omega shifted his attention elsewhere.

...

The sun was setting again.

Her gloved hands lifted a knife, as she got closer to the brown box before her. Lifting the tool, she dove it into the tape sealed cover, and placed a firm hole in the box. Seconds later, her fingers went in, and she started pulling apart. The noise of tearing cardboard and tape echoed for a bit, before the blonde hedgehog pulled back.

"Urgh!" she groaned, "I hate how tight these things can get! Those blasted earthlings and their packaging practices! I'd destroy them myself if they weren't so necessary!"

With a deep sigh, she ended her tirade, and returned to her calm nature.

There was a knock at the door.

Her blue eyes moved through the box littered home, before eventually coming to the closed-door of her home.

"Who is it?" she called, so sure of what person would be here.

"Maria?" his dark voice called back.

Maria stood up tall, as she gave a sultry glare. He came... he actually came... Brushing off any dust from her blouse, she made her way toward the door.

"Shadow? Is that you?"

"Yes..." he confirmed.

Her hand fell onto her golden door knob, and with a twist, she opened it up. Just as she suspected, the black hedgehog stood before her, arms crossed in their usual way.

"I came to help you with your boxes..." he said.

"Just as you promised..." she replied.

Arms uncrossing, he stepped into the home. With his back turned toward her, she gave a tantalizing glare.

The door closed...


	5. Betrayal

Betrayal

Fluttering images passed by his eyes.

The guard, finding it hard to stay awake at such intense times, closed his eyes in solitude. The only thing keeping him awake were the images on his small TV, and the light from the ceiling. He leaned back on his chair, cocked up his hat, and closed his eyes. No doubt his boss would be pissed but, he could care less. Right now, sleep was all that mattered. Just a little, until his position changes.

"Yo Bob," a voice called from his radio, "shift's over, ready to switch?"

The guard groaned. Speak of the devil. Reaching his hand down to his pants, he withdrew his radio.

"Yeah, yeah, Bob here... I'm coming..."

He stood up from his chair, his fingers along side the TV he was watching. Once that snapped off, he grabbed his flashlight from off of the desk before him, and swiftly exited the room. Walking down the darkened halls of the Station Square museum, he turned on his flashlight to illuminate his vision. All around him lied many artifacts and knowledge that easily dwarfed him in age. At times, he was overwhelmed with all of the historical objects, but he got used to it by now. It was his job to protect, ya'know?

He marched down the halls in a predetermined order, as he scanned everything he passed by. Nothing was out-of-place, and that was partly what angered him. Night after night he patrolled these halls only for nothing to show up. Who would rob from a museum anyway? There was usually nothing of interest in the buildings. Usually...

His eyes moved over to the main attraction in the museum. Laying in a glass see through case, with lasers spread about, was a very specific jewel.

A Chaos Emerald, in fact.

Blue and shining, it brought in people worldwide just to see its brilliance. And yet Bob never knew why. To him, it was just another item in this massive building.

Briefly, his flashlight danced around the image of the Chaos Emerald, before moving. All was okay here. His footsteps brought him farther and farther away, before disappearing down the halls.

He left something.

Cloaked, shaded figures appeared in the midst of the Chaos Emerald. Covered by darkness, they were impossible to see thanks to the night-time air. Four of them were in the room, all of them were taller than any normal human being, and all were completely invisible from behind the cloaks. One of them stomped off toward the Chaos Emerald, its movements only ceasing once it came to the laser that guarded it. Not wanting to trip the alarm, it stretched its hand out from the cloak.

It wasn't human. It wasn't mobian. It was... something else... Black and scaly, it was not of this world.

The cloaked figure stretched behind the red lasers, trying its hardest not to touch anyone of them. Once its hand met the glass sealed case, it pressed hard on it, causing the case to shake. Instead of shattering it, however, it slowly and expertly lifted the glass case from pedestal the Chaos Emerald lied on. Its other hand then moved to the Chaos Emerald, where it lifted it slowly. Chaos Emerald in hand, the cloaked being laid the glass seal back down on the ground, and took its hand away from the red lasers.

"Ssssstop right there!" a voice roared from away.

The cloaked being spun around, where its shaded face met that of a night guard. In said guard's hand, a pistol.

"Stop, or I'll shoot!"

The cloaked being made no movement, as its invisible eyes locked firmly onto the guard's position. The guard locked up, unsure of what to do. Little did he know the cloaked being was not alone.

A hand appeared on his shoulder. The guard looked away, only to see another shadowy being in similar height and build as the last. This one lifted him up, however, and threw him into the wall. A painful cracking noise echoed from the throw, as the guardsmen's body went dead silent. The figures in the room regrouped with one another, as the halls shuffled with footsteps.

"Did you hear that!?"

"Something slammed on the wall!"

"It came from the Chaos Emerald Chamber! Let's go!"

A trio of guards then appeared, all with their flashlights and guns drawn. The figures made no attempt at escape, as their eyes were locked firmly on the men before them.

"What... the hell?" one guard said, unsure of what he was seeing.

"Holy shit!" another yelled, "Look at what they did the Micheal!"

"Get 'em!"

One cloaked being moved swiftly. Its hand stretching into its cloak, it withdrew a gun... or it looked like a gun. It looked not of this world, as it was silver and had purple lines pulsating on it. The cloaked being hovered its weapon dangerously toward its foes, the barrel aiming down toward them. The guards were so awestruck by the weapon, they couldn't move.

Then it fired.

A purple fire-ball flew out, and struck one of the guardsmen. Connecting to his body, the guard was thrown away, and vaporized. Literally. He turned to dust, he turned into absolutely nothing. His allies looked away in fear, as their eyes came to terms with the fact that someone had disintegrated. Trading looks with one another seconds after, they figured the best thing to do was get the hell out, and they did so quickly. Bolting down the halls, they tried their hardest to outrun the cloaked beings. They didn't make it too far.

The loud booms of the assailants footsteps echoed throughout the halls. One guard turned around, and flashed his flashlight upon the sound. Nothing. He turned around, and flashed his light that way. Nothing, again. The two guards started to tremble in fear, as they knew their foes were upon them. The only thing they had for solace, was the yellow lights from their flash lights.

They went out... simultaneously, in fact.

It was unknown what happened next. Screams roared everywhere, bodies were flung, and pain was known. All in the embrace of darkness.

The flashlights came on, and revealed... nothing...

The guards were gone, every last trace of them. The cloaked figures were gone too, as if never existing. Footsteps echoed moments later, and one last guard appeared.

"The hell?" Bob said, rubbing his head, "What happened here!?"

...

Hope's finger danced with the cup before her.

Gone were her overalls, instead, here was this mechanic, wearing clothing more... streetwise, to put it lightly. A short red shirt hung on her shoulders one that ended just above her belly button, while he pants were black with red stripes running up the side. On her waist, a belt that held her pants up, with the 'HK' engraved on the buckle itself. Her shoes, this evening, was different from the boots of norm, but instead tennis shoes reminiscent of a certain black and red hedgehog. Hey... Hero-Worship.

The night sky sparkled above her head, while a certain bat sat away from her. Rouge was dressed, more or less, the same. By that, I mean, very sexualized. Her body suit was now different, though the cleavage showing heart shape structure remained. No longer was it one complete article of clothing, but the top half and pants were separate. Like the mechanic, her shirt ended just above her belly button, while her pants began at around the waist. Unlike Hope's however, her pants were tighter and hugged every curve of her body. And to tie it all together, her shoes were, of course, high heels. She knew what she was doing.

"Rouge," the girl said, the party lights dancing above her, "I... don't really feel to good about all of this..."

The young girl's blue eyes were focused on her own cleavage, as she felt the shirt showed a bit _too_ much. However, her batty friend wasn't having any of her words. Her teal eyes floated over to the blonde mechanic, as a groan of annoyance exited her lips.

"Oh, come on Hope!" she groaned, "You have no idea how hard it was to get you into this club!"

Yeah... to be in an adult club was any teenage girl's dream. Well... save for Hope, because she couldn't care any less. Her mind was focused on a certain black hedgehog. Returning her gaze to her drink before her, she started to focus on its rippling waves. In her reflection, she saw a certain black and red hedgehog. A groan came seconds later, as she palmed her face and fell back into her chair. He just never left her mind.

"Hope?" Rouge called, "Are you okay?"

She shook her head no.

"I can't stop thinking about him..." she murmured, "Every time I close my eyes... I just see Shadow..." she shook her head. "How could he heart me like this..."

Picking up the cup, she brought it too her lips and drank down a bit. This drink was a bit different from what she was used to. Tasting like a fusion of cherry and lemonade, the young girl felt better about herself.

"Whoa..." she said, waving her head to and fro.

"Feeling better?" the bat questioned, giving a smile.

"What is this?" she said.

"Oh nothing," the bat answered, "just something to calm you down."

Hope gave a confused glance to her friend, but shrugged it off ultimately. Taking her drink again, she took another sip of it, only for it to calm her down a bit more.

"Now are you in the mood for talking?" Rouge questioned.

"No, no," Hope said, taking another sip, "not yet..."

Rouge let out a sigh. This was going to take a while, she could tell.

Damn... and she was sure Hope wouldn't have to drink much alcohol...

...

Box after box, they were eventually opened up.

The night sky hung behind him, as the dark hedgehog carried a box of fine china. Carrying it to a glass wardrobe, he started to take out various cups, plates, and bowls, before putting them in specific areas of the wardrobe. A furry creäture slid by his leg, causing a slight shiver to course up him. Looking down, his ruby eyes met the golden eyes of a cat.

"Mwoar?" Selina called, getting his attention.

Shadow shook his head at the feline, before a small smile crept upon his lips. Normal, unevolved animals... he always had a soft spot for them. His hand moved down to Selina, and he started to pet her. The feline gave a pleasured look, as it started to bend to his soft touches. His fingers started to move down the cat's spine, causing her to let out purrs of happiness. Purring... Shadow couldn't remember the last time he heard that noise.

"Yeah," he said, his voice as indifferent as always, "I don't mind getting pet sometimes myself..."

Shifting his gaze away, he took note of the many boxes laid about. He had to get to work so, he stepped off. Lifting another box, he tore it open to get a look at what was insides. This box carried books, with one specific one lying on top. This book being, Alice in Wonderland. Shadow shook his head. The more he thought about it, the more like his Maria, Maria Rivet was.

"Shadow." she called, stepping out from a hall.

His ruby eyes moved over to her, as she gazed at him with shimmering blue eyes. He merely gave a slight and courteous nod, before returning his gaze to the books in hand.

"Thank you very much for helping me," she said, getting closer, "I'm sorry if I'm wasting your time..."

Shadow shook his head in a no manner though, as he took a seat on a recently unpacked chair.

"No, you're not wasting my time..." he murmured, taking Alice in Wonderland from the top of the box.

"I thought you said you had someone special, Shadow," Maria Rivet claimed, getting closer, "What was her name? Hope?"

The black hedgehog shook his head though, as his fingers found the edge of the book.

"Yeah... but... she hasn't been feeling to well, as of late..."

"Oh, that's so sad..."

His opening the book, he started to flip randomly throughout the pages.

"Its my favorite book," Maria said, getting closer, "I used to read it all the time when I was a little girl..."

Shadow nodded. He used to read it all the time with a little girl of his own. In fact, he was completely sure this was the first book he ever read. Funny how these things end up together. He started smoothing back his quills, as his eyes danced upon a random page. Suddenly, he felt body heat resonate with him. His attention shifted to his right, where a blonde hedgehog sat beside him. Maria's muzzle was a shade of red, and upon realizing he was noticing her, she turned away. A slight chuckle exited Shadow's lips, as he found the young hedgehog to be... well, kind of... cute...

Wait... What?

"I'm really happy you decided to help me..." she said, "I mean... it's like a dream come true for me..." she looked at him, "To be close to my hero."

There was another person who called him hero. And he loved that person so much. Closing his eyes, he saw nothing but Hope. She was sitting there, in the darkness of his mind, waiting for him to come near. It was thoughts like this that made him feel better. He wouldn't of minded if Hope was here right now, helping him unpack Maria's things. But she was out with Rouge tonight. Hopefully, the bat wouldn't be messing with her mind as she often does.

He felt warm lips upon his.

Almost immediately, Shadow jerked back from the intrusion of space. Maria Rivet too, snapped back, as a face of fear was placated on her lips. Shadow's ruby eyes started to shine, but not from confusion, more from anger. He jerked up from the seat he sat on, dropped the book, and shot a deadly gaze at the Maria look-a-like.

Silence.

She merely gazed at him, while he gazed back. Anger and rage was on is face, he was so ready to bring this building down to its knees. But... she still looked so much like... his Maria. The way she looked at him, eyes of terror, hands over mouth, it pained him in a way he didn't understand. He could feel his heartbeat.

Maria's muzzle flushed red, as she turned around and covered her eyes.

"I'm, I'm sorry," she cried, "I couldn't help myself!"

Shadow said nothing. In stunned silence, he just gave a glare. With a steady air, he lifted his hand, and brought it to his muzzle. His gloved fingers danced against his lips.

That kiss... he wanted more...

Eyes closing, all he saw was Hope. His mind brought him to the first time they kissed. On that field, when he just saved the mechanic from their toppling car. How she kissed him, out of the blue. This moment felt so similar.

His mind went blank.

He was atop her, hands on her wrist, pinning her body down. His lips were on her neck, kissing it over and over again. The blonde hedgehog let out a moan from the kisses, as her eyes closed shut from his loving touches.

He shouldn't have been doing this. He knew he shouldn't have. Then why, why couldn't he stop. His mind centered on Hope, and the betrayal he was causing her. Why couldn't he let go?

Why couldn't he do it?

He was Shadow the hedgehog! The Ultimate Life form! Then why? WHY!? Why couldn't he let this blonde hedgehog go?

His hand moved along to the bottom of her dress. Grabbing a hold of it, he felt the need to just tear it off. Maria seemed to not mind, as her moaning mouth constantly egged him on. She felt such a strange sensation when Shadow's gloved hand met her leg, and slide all the way up to her thigh. How could a touch give so much pleasure?

Suddenly, she was in the air, being held up by Shadow alone. Instinctively, her legs wrapped around his waist, as he shoved her into the wall. His kisses never ceased, and he continued to trail them up and down her neck.

He couldn't do anything about it... about... _this_... Maria knew this now. As she was letting out calls of pleasure, she never wavered her eyes off of the black and red hedgehog. His hands came to her back side, and met the zipper that held her dress up. A smile crept upon the blond hedgehog's lips, as she heard the noise of the zipper move down and down. Once it met its end, she felt Shadow's warm hands caress the fur on her back. A giggle escaped from the ticklish touches, before his hands grabbed a hold of her dress.

...

"You know... he never said it..."

Rouge's teal eyes shot to the young girl.

It was terrifying, how Hope did that. The girl had passed out in the club, probably because of the alcohol she was drinking. Right now, she and her batty friend sat in one of Rouge's car, driving through the city of Night Babylon. Rouge was sure Hope would stay asleep, at least until they got home but, the young mechanic had already awaken. Or, was she always awake? Rouge wasn't sure.

"He... never said those words..." Hope murmured, her head throbbing with pain.

Her voice was so weak, low, and miserable.

"He never said what words, sweetie?" Rouge questioned, her hand laying on Hope's.

"He never said... I love you, Hope..."

The blonde haired mechanic's eyes opened, and she tried her hardest to look at Rouge. The bat could tell she was ready to fall out at any moment, as her eyes were struggling to stay open.

"Not once..." she mumbled.

"Hope..." Rouge said, unsure of herself, "You know Shadow loves you..."

The girl gave a nod, despite herself.

"Yeah... I know he loves me..." she shifted her gaze out the window, "But... I wish he would say it... at least once..."

She lifted her hands, and cradled her shoulders. The car must have been cold, because Hope started shaking. Rouge's hand started to rub her shoulder, in an attempt to warm her friend. But it wasn't because of the cold air that Hope was shivering. It was because of herself that she was shivering. She felt like her world was freezing over.

"I just want him to say it once," she whispered, "just once... I know Shadow's cold around everyone, and getting him to admit his feelings is hard but... I should be an exception... I should be... an... ex... cep...tion..."

Moments later, Rouge heard a soft snore echo in the car.

The bat felt relieved, for some reason. There was really something going on between Hope and Shadow. The worst part though, was Rouge had no idea how to help them. Could she even help them? There is some things both sides needed to admit to.

Shadow is too secretive...

Hope is too distrustful...

Rouge closed her eyes, and shook her head. She never signed up for any of this! And yet, she still felt like she was very much apart of it. Shadow was like a brother to her. Hope, was like a younger sister. They were all very much a family, Team Dark was. So, when family's are having problems that delve on the inside, what does one do? Pray... she supposed.

"Oh, Shadow..." she grumbled, "Don't do anything stupid..."

...

Gloves gone... dress gone... boots gone... only thing that remained on her person were her bra and panties. On her bed she laid, as a very amorous black and red hedgehog held onto her.

His muzzle was placed firmly in the cleavage of her bra, kissing it over and over again. Those kisses felt so electric, to the blonde hedgehog, as it made her fur stand on end. Shadow was so good at this, it made her wonder who taught him about all of this. Perhaps it was that bat... yeah... that sounds reasonable enough.

"Ah, Shadow..." she moaned, as his fingers slid up her thigh.

His gloves were removed by this point in time, so she could feel every inch of his warm hand. He could also feel hers. Didn't make him feel any better, however. His mind roared, it screamed, it tried its hardest to break free but...

There was nothing he could do.

His fingers slid up under her panty line, and hooked on. Maria let out a sudden moan, as she felt her pink underwear slide off slowly. Down her thighs, passed her knees, around her ankles, and finally off to the floor. Maria couldn't see it past Shadow's body, but she felt something rub against her womanhood. The touch was so brief, and yet Maria let out a moan that filled the room. Biting onto her bottom lip, she waited, no she _pleaded_ for the deed to be done.

But it never came.

Shadow's grip on Maria loosened, and he pulled back. The blue eyes she had stared daggers into his body, as he... stood there. His face was a fusion of fear, confusion, and self-pity. Oh, so much self-pity.

"Shadow?" Maria called, her eyes bending up in confusion.

He remained silent, however. Moving over to her nightstand, he lifted his gloves and slid them on. Maria was still trying to get a rise out of him but... he said nothing. It didn't take long for his presence to disappear from the home, with a slam of the door.

Maria sat on her bed, half-naked, as she wondered just what the hell happened. Were they not in the moment of heated passion? About to make love? Then why, why, did Shadow just leave like that? He said nothing, and he did it so quickly.

"Dammit..." she murmured, holding onto her cheeks with her hand, "And I almost had him too..."

Suddenly, the furry feline Selina appeared, right at Maria's door. The blonde hedgehog wagged a finger in a come hither motion, causing her pet to prance over. Quickly, the fur ball climbed up the bed, and came to her master.

"Ah... I almost had him, Selina." Maria murmured, "Don't know what got into him though..."

"Mwoar..." the cat whispered, closing her eyes and digging down.

"Yeah..." Maria said, petting her pet, "But I think I have an idea as to why..."

The cat cocked its head up.

"He says this girl named Hope is not his girlfriend... but its obvious she's important to him..." her eyebrows moved downward, and her face became... unsettling... "I don't like it... she'll ruin everything..."

"Mwoar?"

"Everything... "

She fell back into her bed, not bothering to try and dress herself. Selina walked up to her master's face, and gazed at her. Maria glanced briefly at her golden eyes, blinked, and then glanced again. Those golden eyes were now burning red snakes. Selina made no noises, as her now demonic eyes glared holes into Maria. The blonde hedgehog merely scoffed at the motion, before patting her cat's eyes down.

"Oh please," she said, "don't give me that! I'm trying my hardest right here!"

Both of their eyes moved toward the window.

"Your hardest, is not good enough."


	6. Regret

Regret

Her mind throbbed with wild pain.

Over and over again, she groaned, as she tugged valiantly on the sheets of her bed. Her hand laid on her forehead, as if this would cure her of this massive pain. This was, without a doubt, the worse pain she ever felt. Ever! Yes, even worse than that time she was impaled by Mephiles. Never, will she ever, have another taste of that Devil's drink known as alcohol. Even if it did taste so good.

What time was it? One AM? That's what her clock said, and the nighttime sky seemed to confirm this. Club Rouge was banging with music, while the skyline through the window showed nothing but flashing street lights, and twinkling stars. But, there was something missing from all of this, and Hope recognized it the minute she stepped into her room.

"Shadow?" she called out, unsure if he heard her or not, "Shadow, where are you?"

Right now, she didn't care if he was messing with some blonde hedgehog or not, she needed to be in his arms. Ever since this whole Maria business started, Hope had begun feeling more and more miserable. She didn't want to be miserable. She didn't want to...

Boy, the music from the club was not helping her mind in any way. It bounced and boomed over and over again, much to her displeasure. Grabbing a hold of her ears, she tried to drown out the noise, but it would have its way. Boom! Boom! Boom! Damn, it hurt her head.

She was cursing her self right now. Well, Rouge included. Had the bat never brought her to the club on their, 'Girls Night Out', she would never have gotten drunk, and would not be dealing with this hangover. But she knew better. The only reason she had drunk so much was because the drinks calmed her nerves when it came to Shadow, and eventually... he just melted away.

Almost...

"Shadow?" she said, placing their pillows over her head, "Where are you?"

Her calls once more went unanswered, as she tried her hardest to heal her nerves. Where was that black hedgehog? Had this been any other day, he would have been here by now. So... where was he?

The door opened.

From her pillow covered eyes, Hope looked through the dark room to the being standing before her. There he was, her dark lover, standing there, just... standing... His ruby eyes were shining but, they held a certain dullness within them that was hard to explain. Hope could tell something was wrong, but she didn't care. He was here, with her, now.

"Oh, Shadow..." she whispered, happiness in her words.

But he remained motionless. He said nothing, and hadn't even moved to breathe. Yeah... something was definitely wrong. For about two minutes this went on.

He stepped forward. Hope, her heart lifted, stretched forward her hands, ready for a loving embraced. But Shadow didn't give her one. He stood at the edge of the bed, fingers on its wooden frame, eyes staring into hers. What was wrong with Shadow? Why was he acting this way? The way he appeared before her felt less like her dark hero, and more like a cold apparition.

"S-Shadow?" she stammered, unsure of what this being before her was.

He stretched his hands onto the bed's sheets, and soon his knees too. He crawled up to Hope's position, and only stopped when their noses were mere inches apart.

Silence...

"Shadow?"

"Hope..." he answered, his first words.

Hearing him say her name made her heart rise. Right now, she didn't care for some woman named Maria Rivet, she was just happy he was here. She needed to feel his love.

Moving forward, her lips met his in a kiss, but... it wasn't loving. Hope was doing all the work when, most of the time, it was Shadow who overpowered her. Pulling back, the mechanic saw he retained the cold face from before, only now it had an added tinge of sadness. No... not sadness... regret...

"Shadow?"

His head waved to and fro, as low, pained filled grumbles exited his mouth. Grabbing onto his head, he continued to shake, as if a war was waging in his mind. What happened? Why was he doing this?

"Shadow, please stop." she said, laying her hand on his.

"No, no, I can't!" he stated, his voice fighting back tears, "Hope, I... I... I!..."

"You what?"

His chest raised in and out.

"I... I..." the last part he whispered, "I betrayed your trust..."

As silent as it was. As pain filled, and grievous it was. As much regret and sorrow was filled in those words. The effect was all the same.

Hope heard it.

Shadow couldn't believe his own words.

His eyes closed shut. He was so hurt, his eyes grew tighter and tighter, as if trying to lock out any and all kind of light. His hands fell back atop his skull, as his face went into the bed sheets.

This wasn't Shadow the hedgehog. This crying mess of a being, at the knees of his lover, sobbing uncontrollably. No, there was no way this was Shadow the hedgehog. He wouldn't do something like this, he could never cry at someone's feet. But, more importantly, he would never betray someone's trust in the way that he did. And the worst part was, Shadow was afraid. The reason why he closed his eyes shut, instead of facing the problem he created was because he was afraid. Never before had he faced such a foe, a foe made out of... pain.

Pain... how does one face pain? More importantly, pain the individual him or herself has created? You can't fight pain. Its... impossible...

So... what now? What do these two do now?

Shadow didn't know what to do, and Hope... well... Hope had one idea.

"Get out..."

...

Rouge stretched out her arms as she leaned back into her bed. The Music downstairs was still going but... she didn't mind. As usual, Omega would lock up the club, go to sleep mode, and the daily process would start again anew, in the morning. Right now, she really missed going to G.U.N. as wild as that may seem. What she used to think was a nuisance, she now saw as a necessity. If she didn't go to work soon, she would lose her mind! But, oh yeah, that's right, Team Dark was on temporary leave thanks to a certain... debacle...

What to do? What to do?

"I SAID GET OUT!"

That got the bat's attention.

Her teal eyes opened wide, and she glared around her bedroom. Odd... that sounded like Hope but she had never heard the teen's voice get that high. It was something that needed investigation, Rouge was sure of that. Wings flapping, she stood from her bed, before draping a robe around her body. With tired eyes and needed yawns, she trekked down the halls of her upscale suite. The halls were vacant, save for one open door.

Hope and Shadow's room...

She saw the black hedgehog leave the room. His face gazing down, fists curled tightly. His air shoes stumbled on and... he was gone, in a bright yellow flash.

Rouge cocked her head in a confused glance, as her mind ran over what she just witnessed. Grabbing a hold of her robe's plush belt, she stepped hesitantly over toward Hope's door. It was cracked over ever so slightly. Her gloved hand found its edge, and she pushed it open. A loud, audible creaking noise echoed through the room, as the door slid open. Their was Hope, on her bed, staring... staring... staring...

The way her blue eyes looked, it at appeared as if they... lost their shine. How dull they were. Rouge had never seen this before. It was terrifying. Hope glared but... it wasn't at Rouge. Sure, her eyesight laid directly upon the bat but, it wasn't the bat she was looking at. She just... stared...

Rouge moved her gloved hand to her lips. Tapping an invisible button on it she whispered the command,

"Omega... come up here, could you?"

"Affirmative..." he answered.

Rouge's hand fell seconds later, and she started thinking. Hope's glare had not loss its intensity, nor had it wavered. She hadn't even blinked, terrifyingly enough. Teal eyes moved down to the floor, and watched the floor move forward. Rouge came near Hope and Shadow's bed, and stopped.

Now what?

"Hope?" Rouge whispered, "What happened?"

The girl said absolutely nothing. Nothing came from her, no words, no sounds, not even the noise of her breathing. She just stared.

"Hope?" Rouge pressed again, trying to get something out of her friend, "What happened?"

Still, the girl responded with pure silence.

"Hey," Rouge said as she sat near her, "there there, Hope dear..."

Feeling her friend against her must have spurred something because, Hope finally blinked. Her eyes shut soon after, and her cheek met Rouge's shoulder. Seconds later, the tears started to flow. She didn't sob, or snort with snot, no... she just silently cried. Not sure of what to do, Rouge started to rub Hope's head in a calming manner.

"It'll... get better soon..." she said, unconsciously.

Comforting people was not one of Rouge's strong suits. For Hope, however, she would make an exception, and try her hardest. But there was so much she could do. She needed to know where this problem was born from.

"I hate him..." she whispered, easily enough.

Rouge was taken aback by those words. She knew who 'him' was, it didn't take a psychiatrist to figure that one out. 'Hate' and 'Shadow', were two words that would never be in the same sentence, when coming from Hope. It was... impossible, an oxymoron. Someone would divide by zero before Hope ever said such words. So... why had she said them?

The door slid open, revealing the behemoth robot known as Omega. His silver claw flipped the room's switch up, causing the lights to come on. Red optics scanned the room quickly, before centering on his two female allies. He said nothing, as he allowed his heavy footsteps to speak for him. Slowly marching, he came near the bed, and just stopped.

"Hope..." he whispered, a noticeable pint of concern in his voice, "You don't appear to be okay... your heart has slowed..."

She didn't acknowledge his words with an answer pertaining to it. Instead, she said,

"Could you two please... leave me alone... I... I want to go to sleep now..."

The silence came back, but the two intruders understood. With a regretful nod, Rouge stood up from Hope's bed, and slid her hands on Omega's shoulder.

"If you need us, just call..." she stated.

The mechanic merely nodded. It didn't take long for both Omega and Rouge to exit her room.

So, here they stood, outside Hope and Shadow's room, with an extreme lack of information. What now?

"Omega," Rouge said, forming a plan already, "Watch Hope, okay? Make sure she doesn't do something stupid..."

"Affirmative... what are you going to do, Rouge?"

"Make sure Shadow doesn't do something stupid."

With a slight nod, Omega returned his red optics onto Hope's door. Rouge did like-wise before she left. Her teal eyes ran up and down the doorway, and scanned something on it. A gold and black heart made of metal. Rouge's hand slid up and down the heart. In the center of it, engraved on a golden plaque were the words, 'Shadow and Hope's Residence'. Rouge let out a small chuckle at it. It was only two weeks after she started living here, that she placed that golden statement there. The girl had spent hours working on it, so it would come out just perfectly. Yeah... the bat could remember when Shadow protested against such a thing, finding it pointless, but Hope remained adamant. She gave this whole speech on how such a thing was necessary, which ultimately made Shadow fold. What did Hope's speech end with?

_"It proves our love for each other, Shadow!"_

Rouge had to solve this... she just had too.

Wings flapping, she flew down the hall before coming to her room. Through her many clothes she shuffled, before finding her usual full body suit. Slipping it on, she shifted her attention toward the window and slid it up. Her teal eyes scanned the oncoming skies, as they noticed oncoming storm clouds.

Perfect... just perfect...

Her wings flapped, and she started to fly through the skies. She knew where Shadow was...

...

He sat there.

Ruby eyes locked forward.

Not moving an inch.

Hands twiddling with one another.

Fur standing on end.

Skin so cold...

He just sat there. His ruby eyes overlooking the massive lake, as the Night Babylon lights danced behind him. But he cared not. Night Babylon could go straight to hell for all he cared. Because he didn't care... he just didn't care...

"I really hope you're more talkative than Hope." a certain sultry voice intruded.

Shadow made no attempts at looking at her, as he heard her wing flaps get closer and closer. She landed behind the bench he sat on, and ceased any further movements.

"What happened, Shadow?" she questioned.

He didn't answer her, of course. His ruby eyes just remained locked on the lake before him. Rouge's hands found her waist, as she walked closer to him.

"Shadow..." she pressed, "What happened?"

His ruby eyes started darting left and right. He could tell Rouge, right? She was like a sister, after all. Whenever he got into any problem, Rouge would always be by his side. He seems to remember her saying words along the lines of 'Even if the world becomes your enemy remember... I'll always be at your side...'

Then why, why for the love of God could he not tell her? Why? Why...?

"I messed up..."

That was it. That was all he was going to say. He refused to answer any more questions. That was good because... Rouge had no more questions.

Her head waved back and forth as her eyes closed shut. Arms crossed over one another, as she mulled the words over in her head.

What did Shadow mean by it? What could Shadow do that would cause Hope to be so... soulless? Her mind floated over one word, on label but... that label and Shadow were two things that were impossible to be with one another.

Shadow the hedgehog = Cheater...

No, that's impossible. Impossible...

IMPOSSIBLE...

"Only you can make this right, Shadow." Rouge said, "And Hope she's... well..."

He shook his head, but he understood her words. Only he could make right where he made wrong.

Rouge's wings flapped seconds later, and before he knew it, she was gone. Gone into the sky. A crackling of thunder accompanied her exit, and moments later, it started raining. Lighting shook through the sky, as water droplets peppered Shadow's skin. And he merely sat there. Had he been mortal, he would have probably seeked refuge as to not catch an illness, but he is not mortal. He's immortal. The Ultimate Life form... Shadow the hedgehog...

Alone again...

An umbrella covered the rain above him. Shadow gazed up slowly, to meet said blue umbrella. His eyes then moved down the handle, and eventually came to hand. A hand owned by a certain blonde hedgehog.

Maria Rivet gazed at Shadow, and said nothing. Her face was filled with concern, as she tugged onto the end of her blue dress. He should have destroyed her. He should have flung her into space, or drowned her in the lake, or reduced her to dust with his Chaos Powers. He should have done a lot of things, but he didn't.

She stretched forward her hand. Shadow was, of course, weary of it at first but... gazing into Maria's eyes satiated his soul. He couldn't say no to her... it was impossible. To say 'no' to Maria, was something he could never do, not in a million years. His hand stretched forward, and met hers.


	7. Dreams and Memories

Dreams and Memories

"Hope..." he grumbled, "No... Hope... stop it..."

Her kisses never ceased though. On his lips and muzzle, he felt those soft touches from her lips, over and over again. How long had she been staying here? It was only last week when she first arrived but... it felt longer than that, as if she had always been here.

"Are you finally going to wake up?" she giggled a reply.

Why not? His ruby eyes opened up slowly. Floating about the room, he found it to be clad in a warm aura coming from the morning sun. Or, was that aura coming from the girl before him? Gazing about, his eyesight eventually came to the young teen kissing him. She was already dressed, from head to toe, in her usual overall attire. Her head was propped up by her hands, as she laid atop the bed sheets.

"You're amazingly stubborn in your sleep, Shadow." she giggled, "It took me quite some time to wake you up."

Suddenly, she started pouting. But not in angered way, but more in a childishly cute one.

"You promised we'd go to the park today," she stated, "and then you go and sleep the entire morning away."

"And?" he questioned, his eyes looking into hers, "So what's a few minutes late?"

"Try a few hours!" she retorted, "You know I love visiting the park in the morning."

"Well," the hedgehog slid up from his sheets, "all the good food vendors come out around noon, so... We'll call it even."

"No we won't!"

Her face remained heated at Shadow's calm demeanor, but he merely chuckled at the sight. He knew how to satiate her rage. All it took to calm her down was one simple kiss. His lips met hers. Hope's eyes rolled up from the kiss, before she ultimately relented. After he broke the kiss, her anger came back, but at a much lower level.

"Fine," she murmured, "you win this time."

Shadow gave a low chuckle.

"I always win."

"Let's just get a move on!"

She hopped of the bed they shared, turned toward the door, and walked off with a certain sway. Sliding the door open, she stepped off into the hall, but stopped suddenly. Turning around, she gazed at Shadow, smiled, and said,

"I love you..."

He nodded.

There was a certain tinge of pain and hurt in Hope's eyes, before the door slid close.

It was foolish to reply with what she wanted, he felt. She knew his true feelings for her, so why did she expect him to say it all the time? He never required her to say it to him... then again... it did make him feel a bit better.

Wait... What?

His feet shuffled over the side of his bed. He felt really bad for what he did, or in this case didn't do, to Hope. Still, why was it so required for him to say 'I love you'? She knew how he felt, she knew he loved her more than a certain blonde friend from long ago. Was that not enough for her? Did he really have to say those words?

Did he?

"Hope..." he whispered.

...

"Hope..."

His ruby eye fluttered open. A low, tic-toc noise echoed through the room, stemming from an old grandfather clock. He stretched his body up from the couch he slept on, gave out a much needed yawn, and rubbed his back.

This was no way to wake up.

A cat's meow called out to him. His ruby eyes moved to the floor beside him to see a black furred feline. Unconsciously, he moved his hand down to the cat and started to pet it. Selina grooved to his touches, as his hand moved up and down her back side.

Always a soft spot for unevolved animals.

The smell of food entered his nose seconds later. Shadow gazed up and down the room's walls as he tried to figure out where the smell came from. He tipped his feet off of the couch he slept on, and started to move through the wood framed floors. The smell of eggs and waffles filled the airways of the home, surely giving those who smelled it a pleasure center in the mind.

Too bad Shadow was no such person.

His arms crossed over one another, as he stepped off through the home. Eventually, he came to the home's kitchen where he found the cook. There Maria Rivet stood before him, wearing a cooking apron that was open in the back. That was it. She wasn't wearing anything else. Her back was turned toward Shadow, as if she hadn't noticed he were awake yet.

She was trying to seduce him... he knew that now...

His foot stomped in the kitchen, causing Maria to turn. She looked at Shadow, gave a smile, turned around, and faced him.

"Good morning, Shadow." she said, her lips puckering.

But the dark hedgehog was not in the mood for such childishness. Like lightning, he was upon her, his arms pinning her down, his ruby eyes spitting flames. Maria gave a fearful look, as Shadow showed nothing but rage.

"Why!?" he yelled, rage and anger in his voice.

The grip he held on her was constantly increasing, causing her to yell out in pain. That fearful visage she held started to wince, as he was hurting her. Just gazing upon that face, that cute, cherub like face of a friend long gone... it hurt him.

_How could you hurt Maria?_ he heard a voice scream in his head.

But no, this wasn't Maria, he knew that! This was some... succubus like being, who was ruining everything! _EVERYTHING!_ Then why, why did he feel so wrong doing this to her? Why did he feel wrong hurting the person who was hurting him? It was like a little man was in his head, breaking and smashing stuff! He released the grip he held on her, staggered back, and gazed to the floor.

"I'm... I'm sorry..." he apologized.

"Its... Okay..." Maria replied, rubbing the areas on his shoulders where he grabbed her, "I guess... this is partially my fault..."

No... nothing was Maria's fault. She was so innocent. It was impossible for it to be her fault. This was his fault. He was the one who relented to Maria's kiss. It was all his fault.

"So... you made breakfast?" he murmured, changing the subject.

"Yes..." she answered, a smile coming to her lips, "You looked so hungry in your sleep, I thought I'd make you some."

She turned around, waved her butt in his face, then continued to cook and prepare food. But Shadow didn't feel to good right now. His face buried itself into the table while he thought, and thought, and thought.

Last night... was by far the worse night of his life. Only beaten by the raid of Ark, of course. Still... he couldn't help thinking about last night, and how he almost went all the way with Maria. Why did he feel like it wasn't that bad? He knew it was, he betrayed Hope but, he felt like he was in the right. In that brief moment when he was with Maria, he felt like... he wasn't in control of himself. He felt like all of these emotions he was saving up for... released themselves.

All because of Maria.

But that was absurd. Yes, it was true, he loved Maria, and maybe if she never died, they could have become something more but... At most, he loved her like a sister... Right?

Right?

Then why... why when Maria Rivet kissed him, it didn't feel like a crime against nature. He felt like Rouge was a sister, and a kiss from her was down right despicable in his eyes. So why was it different with Maria. Her kisses felt... familiar, somehow. As if... they had kissed before. But that wasn't right. There was only one person he ever kissed and she... she was... Hope...

"Breakfast is ready!" Maria claimed.

...

The rumbling of the motorcycle was low today. Not to loud, not to soft, just perfect. Driving through Night Babylon with her beloved was something she always enjoyed doing. And some how, he always made it perfect.

The park was just in eyesight, and the mechanic waved forward. Still, she kept her grip on him tight, as to not let go. She knew how much he enjoyed her touch.

The noon sun lied high in the sky, warming up all it gazed upon. The best part of the day wasn't the weather, though, it was fact that there was no outside interruptions. Rouge was gone, possibly to Angel Island to get a certain Emerald, and Omega was out as well, his scanners picked up an Eggman base not to far off from Neo Green Hill Zone. So, today, it was just Shadow and Hope, and the mechanic would have it no other way.

He stopped at the park moments later, kicked up the stand, and locked down his beloved bike. Stepping off first, he stretched out his hand to Hope with his usual indifferent face. She grabbed a hold of him quickly, and hung on as if claiming him to herself. Sure, she may have been human, but some practices were still animal like.

Shadow was her's, and her's alone.

The park was always filled with people, much to Shadow's ire. He wasn't a people person, obviously enough, but for Hope, he would make an exception. Ever since this relationship started, she had grown more and more outgoing. The fear of being berated by those who looked down upon their relationship melted away after a while, and she started to not care.

Not care...

They passed many humans and mobians, some said hello, while other's kept to themselves. Flickies and birds in the trees chuckled, while some Chao danced around the lakes and ponds in the area. Night Babylon park was always so different from the rest of the city, especially in the day time. Where most of the city was virtual Red Light District, this place was a haven of family activities. People could be seen throwing Frisbees, playing baseball, football, basketball, flying kites even, all these happy fun time activities. And Hope couldn't wait to join in herself.

"Hey Shadow," she pressed, getting his attention, "let's have some fun!"

Since Shadow's definition of 'fun' was different from Hope's he had no idea what the girl wanted to do. She started off anyway, running into the fields with pleasure as she giggled wildly. Shadow waved his head to and fro as he watched the girl do this. She could be so childish sometimes.

"Get back here..." he motioned.

She made her way to a Chao Pond, where she started to splash the water childishly. Such moments were always taken from her as a child, so it was nice to be able to enjoy it right now. Some Chaos started to join in his fun, as they two started to splash in the waters of the pond. Shadow was less enthusiastic, as expected of him, as he merely stood on the edge with his arms crossed.

"C'mon Shadow!" Hope beckoned.

But he was adamant, and shook his head no.

"Stop this silliness, Hope," he murmured, "you're getting yourself wet..."

"Oh, I don't mind," she replied, "how 'bout you? Why don't you join in?"

"I'd rather not..."

But the girl wouldn't take that as an answer. As his eyes closed, she grabbed a hold of him, and pulled him into the pond. As Shadow's head went under, all he heard was childish giggles, and the chortles of various Chao. He sprung up, moments after, and shot flaming ruby eyes at Hope before him. And she, well, she just giggled. His mouth opened up to yell at her, but she had the ultimate come back.

She kissed him.

Both fell into the pond as her lips laid atop his. Shadow's anger and rage was quickly dulled, as Hope's lips claimed his. All around them, the various Chao giggled as the yellow dots above their heads changed to hearts.

...

Her blue eyes opened.

Nothing... just... nothing...

No warmth, no sounds of his breathing, no love in this bed...

She leaned up tall, her blue eyes looking about.

Omega was probably still outside her door, waiting... it was so nice of him to do that...

She needed to get herself something to drink but... she didn't have the strength to stand. Still, her body ached for some water. She needed to move, some how.

Her hand traveled to the night stand they shared. The time was 2 pm. She had slept for hours. Weakly, she shifted her feet over the bed's edge. They flailed for a bit, before she finally got from the bed she slept on. Almost immediately, however, she buckled under the pressure of her own weight, and fell to the ground. In response to this, she merely sighed.

She grabbed a hold of the bed again, and got to her feet. Her legs wiggled a bit, but they didn't break like last time. So, she started walking. Up to the door, she went, and opened it. As she hypothesized, Omega was still here. His body was in a crouching position, and his eyes were grey and dulled. He was in sleep mode, for the time being. Hope held onto her cold arms, as her lifeless blue eyes aimed down the halls. They were cold, as usual. Maybe it had to deal with the skies, for they were grey with clouds. Her feet shuffled back and forth, and eventually brought her to the kitchen. Hope grabbed a glass.

It was specific one.

_What... you don't like this? _his voice echoed over the memories.

_No, no, Shadow, I think its wonderful!_ her voice answered back, once again, through the memories.

_I found it... It... reminded me of you..._

_ It does? It... looks like it costs a lot._

_ It did... but you're worth it._

Hope stopped. Her eyes lined the cup back and forth and then... she dropped it. As soon as it touched the ground, it shattered into many pieces. Hope stood there, gazing at the shattered cup with her dulled blue eyes.

Just... why not...?

Suddenly, Omega was in the room, alerted by the sudden sounds. He scanned Hope quickly, and finding everything was okay, asked her if she was fine. She didn't answer. She just grabbed herself a cup, poured herself a glass of water, drank it, then promptly returned to bed. Omega was left in the kitchen, with a lost of words.

His arm started beeping...

...

Shadow's eyes traced the golden lining of the grandfather clock. Back and forth it went. He wasn't paying attention to much else, as everything else just didn't matter. Why should it?

Right now, he felt like a man without a soul, for his ruby eyes had lost their fire.

How long had he been sitting here, gazing at the clock? It felt like hours...

"Shadow, are you okay?" her voice called from a hall.

Maria's head popped from the corner first, before the rest of her body. She was properly dressed this time, in her usual blue and white dress. Her face was filled with concern for the sulking black hedgehog, as he looked downright pitiful right now. He was just staring. Staring. Staring...

Maria sat down beside him. Her blue eyes ran up and down his body, as she read his body language. Seconds later, her gloved hand found his leg. Feeling the warmth of another caused a quick jolt to rocket through Shadow, but it didn't stay for long.

Her lips met his.

There was that feeling, again. There was that force that made him feel right when she kissed him. Once again, he wanted more. His arm wrapped Maria close, as their kiss intensified. But no, his mind was once again roaring. Images of Hope assaulted him, and the disservice he was doing her.

Was he really going to do this again?

"No..." he murmured, pushing Maria off of him.

She gave a sight of confusion at his sudden movement.

"What?" she said.

Shadow stood from the couch, and crossed his arms.

"No," he said, "this is all wrong..." he looked to her, "Maria Rivet... I... thank you for giving me a place to stay but..." he looked away, "I've made a problem I need to remedy..."

"But... Shadow..."

"No..." he said again, "I... can't listen to you any more..." he gazed to her, "If I do... I won't be able to make a sound decision anymore. You... look so much like someone I once knew... But enough is a enough."

The air in this room became unbearable. The little man in Shadow's head who was breaking things earlier was now just... stable.

_Will you really leave Maria?_ a voice called.

"Yes..." he answered aloud.

His hand fell atop the doorknob, but Maria's hand fell atop him.

"No, Shadow," she said, "don't leave yet!"

But he made up his mind. No one, not even Maria, could shake his will. He was going to leave, and go back to Hope.

He was going to make things right again.

His wrist started beeping. Shadow and Maria looked down in unison to his beeping glove. Tapping a near invisible button on said glove, the hedgehog lifted it to his face and said,

"Agent Shadow here..."

"Agent Shadow," a receptionist on the other end called, "you and the rest of Team Dark are needed immediately at G.U.N. Headquarters."

Shadow nodded.

"Understood... I'm on my way..."

Now there was nothing to stop him.

Shadow gave one last look at Maria Rivet. No more... he twisted the doorknob, gave a courteous bow, and then left. Maria reached out for him but... he moved so fast there was no way she could stop him. He disappeared into the city. Gone again...

Maria remained standing at the open door for a few more minutes, before she closed the door. As soon as she was sure she was separated from the world, her demeanor changed.

"Dammit!" she yelled, "I almost had him!"

Selina walked up to her master seconds later. Maria looked down to her pet cat, lifted her up in her arms, and continued ranting.

"Dammit all to hell! Curse that... fucking Hope! She's the one causing this!"

"I thought you had this..." a demonic voice echoed through the room.

Maria's eyes gazed down to the cat. Selina's golden-yellow eyes were now flaming snakes.

"I did! I did!" she yelled, "But Shadow-"

"His will is stronger than you'd think!" the cat interrupted.

Suddenly, the cat leaped from Maria's arms and to the floor. It gazed to the ceiling and then produced a dark red light. The red light made many lines and structures before a familiar being phased into existence.

Black Doom...

"You have been playing too much!" he said, "I told you Shadow was much to powerful to damage his willpower!"

"I see that now!" Maria replied, "I even got him in bed, and yet he still fought me off! He went and told Hope! He even lost his spirit! I did everything right!"

"You did everything wrong! If you had succeeded, Shadow would be leading our forces to Central City as we speak!"

"I know, I know! But Shadow didn't finish the deed!... He didn't... He didn't finish it..."

"I told you the mating process was too stupid a way to get him to our side! But it no longer matters... We have procured the Chaos Emerald from Station Square, you are to return to base!"

"Not yet! I can still-"

"You have failed, Maria... now return to base this instant."

"Fine..."

The red lights from the cat's eyes faded away, as Black Doom's holographic image faded away. Maria laid her hands on her head, as an unhappy growl exited her lips. For a brief moment, her blue eyes became flaming red snakes.

"Meow?" Selina murmured.

"Don't start..." Maria retorted.


	8. Haunt of the Egg Saucer

Haunt of the Egg Saucer

Rouge fiddle her thumbs along one another. Laying on this tree branch, she had the perfect little area to think. The sun barely gazed through the tree's canopies, and thus she was bathed in a comfortable blanket of shadows. She was calm and collected, as her mind constantly ran circles around the thoughts of her two best friends.

And that annoying echidna at her feet wasn't making things any better.

"Are you enjoying this?" Knuckles commented, his body wrapped up completely in high-end rope.

Rouge gazed down from the tree branch she sat on, and looked toward the struggling echidna. In one of their many scuffles, she had defeated him, which is why he lied subdued on the ground. But instead of making a beeline for the Master Emerald as she would have done on any normal day, she found herself in deep thought on this tree branch. As much joy stealing the Master Emerald would have given her, she just couldn't bring herself to do it.

Not when Shadow and Hope were so... unhappy...

"Hey..." Rouge called to the angered echidna, "I've gotta question for you Knux..."

Caught off guard by her words, the echidna stopped wiggling about. Instead, he gazed skyward toward the sultry bat.

"What is it?" he questioned, unsure if it were rhetorical or not.

"Two friends of mine they're... not having the best time of their lives right now..."

Knuckles, understandably being confused by all of this, yelled out,

"What are you talking about!?"

Feeling foolish for trying to talk to Knuckles, the bat leaped gracefully to the ground. She wasn't going to take the Master Emerald today, she didn't feel up to it. Instead, she was going to return home and deal with the depressed girl in her home. For a few more feet she walked, before being grabbed in a full nelson. To her surprise, the echidna had already escaped his trap, and now had the bat in one of his own.

"Try as you might to confuse me," Knuckles yelled, "but you won't take the Master Emerald!"

Always with a counter attack, Rouge was. From her jumpsuit, she was able to slip out a few flash bangs. They dropped to the ground, and caught Knuckles' eye quickly. The next thing he knew, he was blind. Rubbing his eyes didn't work, but it was all he had for not.

"Dammit Rouge," he yelled, "Just wait until I get my hands on you!"

A swift kick to the face ended his tirade, as the bat had grown annoyed by his stoic attitude.

As Knuckles lied daze behind her, the sultry bat took the time out to check everything on her person. Finding everything was in check, she shifted her teal glare skyward. Through the tree's canopies, she saw sunlight. The sunlight then faded away. Rouge raised an eyebrow, before taking to the skies with her wings. Flying through the clouds, she saw it briefly.

Large. Disk-shaped. Pulsating lines on it. It spun in an eerily slow fashion. And then, as fast as it appeared, it was gone. Rouge floated their, awestruck by the sight. She was unsure if she had actually seen it or not. Mad scientist, invading aliens, temporal gods, Rouge had seen it all.

But a flying saucer? That's way out there.

Her glove started beeping. Waving off her sight as just an image born of fatigue, Rouge answered the call from her glove.

"Agent Rouge here," she called, "where's the fire?"

"Agent Rouge," the receptionist on the other end called, "you and the rest of Team Dark are needed at G.U.N. Headquarters immediately."

She winced. Did they really needed all of Team Dark?

"Uh... Hope included?" she stammered.

"Hope included..."

"Understood... I'm on my way..."

The beeping died out, and so did the radio.

She didn't want to do this. She really, _really_, didn't want to do this. Maybe G.U.N. didn't know this, but Hope wasn't... all there, as of now. Did they really need her for a mission? The young mechanic had just started going on field missions with the team, so... was it really necessary she'd go on this one? She could miss one mission, right?

Rouge knew Shadow would be there. And she knew she couldn't bring Hope because of it.

Her wings started flapping as they took her toward Angel Island's edge. They wouldn't mind. She was just one girl. A genius girl with the brains rivalling a certain mad doctor, but she was still a girl nonetheless. They didn't need her.

Whatever this mission was... It had better be worth it...

...

"Omega!" Rouge called as she causally jogged up to the base.

The hulking red and black robot gazed to his ally, as his red optics flashed green quickly. Body turning in many different ways, he faced his batty ally full frontal, whilst saying,

"Rouge the bat... you have arrived."

She nodded, though a quick exhausted breath exited her mouth.

"Ran through a storm on the way here..." she commented, "Anyway... has Shadow arrived yet?"

In a circular motion, the machine's head shook.

"Negative..."

"And let me guess... you... did you...?"

"No, I have not brought Hope," he commented, "I believed that was a decision only you could make..."

The bat crossed her arms and looked away, while her mind ran rings around the thought of the teenage girl.

"Yeah... only I could make..." she shifted her gaze back to his, a forced smile placated on her lips, "We'll just tell Commander she was unfit for field duty... until she goes under a psychiatric evaluation, at least."

"Affirmative." he answered.

"Let's get a move on... Shadow will show up when he's needed..."

Together, the two teammates trekked into the base. Among the many folds of their allies, they said hello, many marveling at the tales Team Dark could tell. It didn't take long for them to get to the debriefing room, as the path they took to get there was always so easy to remember. Starting with the elevator.

Omega tapped the up button first. A few beeps and bings echoed from the lights above, before the silver doors slid open. Omega motioned his hand for Rouge to go in first, which she did gracefully. By the time the two got into the elevator, they were joined by a third.

The black and red hedgehog had appeared so suddenly, it garnered a gasp from Rouge. This face of shock quickly melted away into prying eyes, as she gazed along Shadow's form with her teal eyes.

"Well, well, well, handsome," she quipped, "I'm honestly surprised you showed up."

The hedgehog gazed at her with a turn of his head. Arms crossed in the usual fashion, he showed he wasn't in the mood for such foolishness. So, in order to silence any more words from Rouge, he gave a quick grunt.

There was a difference between Shadow at home, and Shadow at the job. At home, Shadow's usual robotic nature would melt away, and he resemble something, well, humane. Sure, his cold attitude may remain, as well as his lack of fun, but he had a heart, and a certain kind of warmth within him. The Shadow at the job, however, was different in so many ways. Unfortunately, this was the Shadow he showed to almost all he came by. Angry, cold, indifferent, and always ready for a fight, the Shadow at work was virtually the terminator. He would hunt, steal, kill, do anything if it meant the accomplishment of the mission. As one would believe, it didn't win him much friends, unless someone dug a little deeper. He had a heart, as cold and hidden as it was.

So, here was Shadow at the job. He had a strict code when it came to G.U.N. Always separate the home from the job, that code probably said. He always felt that the two should not be confused or mixed, Rouge, his friend, at home, was his ally at work. Nothing more, nothing less. The bat knew of this code, of course, so she knew it was going to be hard to get him to talk about Hope. For now, she would just have to deal with it.

The elevator door's slid open, but the tension remained oh so strong. Together, the trio walked until they eventually came to the debriefing room. Opening, they revealed one wildly different from the last. Over the past year, the debriefing room had become bigger, with a great, round, circular desk. The room also had a screen showcasing various information that dealt with the information given to the team. Right now it was off, but they knew it would beam on at any minute.

On the other end of the room, from beneath the giant screen, a door opened up. First stepping out was a tall woman, garbed in a grey suit and tie. She walked up to the desk, laid a mug on it, poured some coffee into said mug, and then quickly disappeared through the door she came from. Seconds later, the Commander himself appeared. His brown and green eyes scanned the team, as a nod came. Raising his hand, he gave a salute, to which Team Dark did the same. After the salute was over, it gave them the permission to sit in the seats circled around the table. As they all sat down, so did the Commander, when suddenly the woman from before reappeared. In her hand, a manila folder. She handed the folder to her commander, gave a salute, and then disappeared once more through the door. G.U.N. Commander took a sip of his coffee, shuddered at the burning taste, then shifted his aged eyes to the folder before him.

"Team Dark..." he said, as usual.

"Commander..." they replied in unison, as usual.

He gave a nod, showing he heard their call, before shifting his lips to the mug before him once more. Another sip sent energy spiking within him, and caused him to stand from the desk. Manila folder in hand, he withdrew a remote from his vest, and tapped a button on it. The screen before the team suddenly beamed on with life, and showed various images.

"I hope you've enjoyed your little vacation, Team," he said, "after that whole little business in Adabat, I'm sure you'd think it would be longer than this."

Ah yes, the mission to Adabat, the very mission that sent the Team on suspension for an unspecified number of time. Let's just says it includes terrorists. Yes, the mission was accomplished, but not in the oh so secret manner the Commander wanted it done.

"Well," the Commander continued, "let me cut to the chase. A day or two ago, the Chaos Emerald from Station Square museum was stolen." the screen showed images of the area, "Three of the five guards on duty disappeared without a trace, while another was killed by way of a snapped neck. Only one guard remained alive, and he didn't have any knowledge of who attacked the emerald. He said he only heard the commotion, and ran to investigate it." he took another sip of his coffee, "Anyway, we believe this attack follows the MO, of a certain Dr. Robotnik... but we're not sure..."

"Are you sure it's Eggman," Rouge interrupted, "killing people doesn't really match his play style..."

The Commander looked at her, and gave a slight nod.

"That's why I said we're not sure..." his attention shifted back to the screen, "We believe its the Doctor because, of these," tapping a button on the remote, he caused the images on the screen to change to a series of strange building like structures on the edge of an snow covered field. On these strange structures, the Doctor's trademark insignia, "They popped up on the edge of Twinkle Snow Zone not to long ago, and-" he stopped.

Spinning around, his green and brown eyes ran up and down the room as they failed to notice one important attribute.

"Where's Hope?" he questioned.

A few uncomfortable glares were given, as both Rouge and Omega gazed directly into Shadow's direction. This, in turn, caused the Commander himself to look at Shadow. The hedgehog wouldn't give them an answer, however, as he merely grunted and gazed off. This caused Rouge to sigh.

"Well, Agent Hope is-"

The noise of the door sliding open interrupted her. Light from the hall poured in, and so did a young teenage girl. Hope stepped in, her blue eyes still dull, while her face held a certain kind of indifference. She wasn't herself, anyone could tell. Gone were those red and black overalls, instead were these blue jeans and blue hoodie. She slid her hands into the jacket's warm insides, before taking a seat directly beside Rouge.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me..." she murmured.

"Well... could you blame me?" the bat replied.

That was all, as Hope's darkened eyes gazed off toward the screen before her. The Commander noticed her shifty gaze. How, pained, her eyes looked. But it was none of his business. The Commander knew not to get into his agent's personal lives, so long as it doesn't affect their work, of course.

"Anyway..." he murmured, feeling the tension growing, "I want you, Team Dark, to investigate this immediately. Hope, you need to figure out what these machine's do, and if the stolen Chaos Emerald is apart of this or not. After you have the answers we need, I want you to destroy the structures, and return to base, understood?"

"Understood!" the entire team replied.

"Good... you will be taking any means necessary to reach Twinkle Snow Zone, but I do expect this mission finished fast."

Suddenly, he turned around, and faced the door he entered through.

"Godspeed, team..."

Words finished, he disappeared through the door, and the screen went deadly silent.

And there was that tension again...

It was there, it was big, and it was unbearable. The only person who couldn't feel it was Omega, and that was because he was a robot. His red optics had already scanned and went over the mission details a thousand times over, and he was prepared to go. So, standing up, he gazed toward the door, but stopped when he realized no one else was moving.

"Are you intending on moving any time soon?" he questioned, his words holding a certain bit of annoyance.

Rouge couldn't though. No one could. Rouge's teal eyes moved to and fro, as she scanned both Shadow and Hope's faces. The teen girl just stared off endlessly, while the black and red hedgehog had his eyes closed in a near meditative manner. Rouge had to make this right but, she was unsure if it should be now or later.

Shadow disappeared in a yellow flash... later then...

"C'mon Hope," Rouge murmured, helping her up, "we need to get a move on..."

The teen nodded.

...

The brazing light show ended, as the air was replaced with cold ice. Shadow's grip on his Chaos Emerald faltered a bit, as his ruby eyes gazed down upon the fields of snow. His breath was visible now, as were the breaths of his teammates save for Omega.

"Area Scanned!" the robot announced, "Eggman robots and Eggman machines, located at nearest snow bank!"

"I'll scout the area," Shadow stated, "prepare for my call when I'm finished."

Seconds later, he disappeared in a flash of yellow lights.

He was running...

"C'mon you guys," Rouge murmured, withdrawing a pistol from her suit, "let's give back up."

Omega gave a nod, while his hands receded into his body to be replaced with Gatling guns. Hope, however, slid her hood down on her head, up to the point that no one could see her eyes. Down the snow bank they walked, the noise of crushing snow and ice echoing about. Eventually, over the snow-covered hills, they could see it. Side by side, several machines were lined up, all tall, all black, all holding the sense of evil. As Omega stated, Eggman's various machines shuffled about. Egg pawns, Egg Gunners, even E-2000s, machines Omega couldn't wait to get his claws on.

"There everywhere," Shadow commented through the radio, "Rouge, what's our course of action?"

Being the team leader in the field, Rouge always had to come up with the answers. This one was fairly simple, however.

"Omega," she commented, her voice sultry as usual, "how's your aim?"

If the machine could laugh, he would be doing so right now.

"Perfection..." he answered instead.

"Good..." she faced him, "Fire..."

The Egg pawns down at the bottom the hill consulted with one another. Mechanical words exchanged, they spoke their own little Eggman language. Their conversations were cut short so soon.

One bullet tore into the head of one Egg pawn. In that instant, all of Eggman's machine's aimed at it. And the bullets kept coming. The air became a virtual war zone as bullets tore into the many mechanical hides belonging to all of Robotnik's machines. Omega suddenly appeared in their midst, his jet boosters keeping him afloat above the icy lands. An E-2000 suddenly appeared in jet mode before him, and quickly transformed into its humanoid firm. Aiming its laser cannon toward its foe, it prepared to fire, but Omega wouldn't have it. His arm quickly produced a rocket, to which he fired it directly into the E-2000's arm cannon. After a short two second countdown, it exploded, sending the machine's red mechanical pieces skyward. All around Egg Pawns and Egg Gunners appeared, all firing at the mechanical behemoth. Omega welcomed all kinds of foes, and easily dispatched all those that came his way. Even the incredible might of the Egg Walkers were compared to flies against the incredible machine.

His explosions tore the very foundation of the ice bank, and caused many pieces of ice to ripple and snap. Rouge stood on the edge of the snowy hill as her teal eyes scanned the extreme destruction. Killing was different Omega's element. Still, the complete and total destruction of everything around had to come at a later time. Right now, Rouge needed to get Hope into the center of one of those machines, and there was only one person who could do that.

"Shadow," Rouge called, "you there?"

A few grunts came from his side of the radio, showing he was fighting.

"Shadow here," he answered, "what is it Rouge?"

"We need to get Hope into the center of one of these machines."

"Understood, I'll clear a way-"

"No! You need to get her there!"

What was she doing? She knew damn well that putting Hope and Shadow into anything together was sure to be a recipe for disaster. With what was going on between them and all. However, no one else could get Hope into the center of those machines faster than Shadow could. Besides... maybe this would help get them on the road to recovering...

Maybe...

"Rouge?" he questioned.

"No, Shadow, you have to do it! I'll help keep the machine's attention with Omega, you on the other hand need to get Hope into the center of one of these machines!"

"But Rouge-"

"Shadow!"

"Fine!... I'm on my way..."

There was a huge explosion of red in the distance, before a recognizable yellow streak reappeared. Shadow gazed at Rouge with these eyes that could say a thousand. Then, he shifted his glared to Hope. Under her hood though, he couldn't see her eyes.

Bridal style, he scooped Hope up. An uncomfortable glance came to his eyes, as he nonchalantly gazed off. Seconds later, he and his partner were gone in a yellow flash. Rouge let out a much needed sigh as she watched them disappear down the hill. Moments later, her wings started to flap as she took off down to meet her crazed robot ally.

Dull blue eyes gazed from under the hood. She felt as if she were floating at high speeds. Was she being held? Honestly, she wasn't sure. She could've sworn she dosed off there for a moment or two.

Their were seven of her uncles massive creations around. Knowing how the mad scientist thought, she knew one of these things held a central brain in it, and she knew even better where it lied at. The center... he was so stupid, her uncle was.

"Shadow..." she said, her voice lacking octaves, "That one, bring me to that one."

His running stopped suddenly, and his attention shifted to the great machine before him. Up close to one, it showed just how big it was. The four-story tall structure stretched into the purple and blue skies, while a low rumbling echoed from within. Hope's dull eyes scanned the outsides, before she pointed forward.

"There," she said, eyes locked catwalk running up the side, "we need to go up there."

A nod came to Shadow, and he started up the black stair case. His footsteps clanked against the steel, and crushed against the snow, as the explosions of Omega's battle roared in the back. Suddenly, an Egg Gunner appeared before them. Grunting, Shadow leaped up high and landed on its head, slamming it into the ground where it was crushed beneath his feet. Up the catwalk he continued, before being met by a series of Egg Pawns. Armed with the usual lance-like swords, they thrusted forward in his direction. Shadow dodged it, making sure to keep Hope safe, and countered with a kick to the face. The Egg pawn went flying back, and crashed into the allies it had. All of them were destroyed by the machine-made missile. Shadow regained his composure quickly, before shifting his attention to the catwalk he ran along. Coming to the entrance of the strange cylinder like structure, he kicked it open, causing the metal to bend open easily. The inside was just as wild as one would expect. Pipes, wires, and other such mechanical wonders were spread within the machine for hours. While the air outside was freezing cold, the air inside was blistering hot, as steam constantly shot.

"This thing stretches to below the ice bank," Hope said, "All the way to the cold water below... we need to get there..."

Shadow nodded. With a quick jog, he made his way down the maze like insides. Since it appeared as if the number of badniks were dwindling on the inside, he was allowed to think a bit. The wonder's of Shadows thoughts were mystery to all but him. And right now, they focused on the girl in his arms. The way she sounded was so... horrible. He couldn't stand it. Each time she opened her mouth it shot a knife through him. Even her breathes were short and weak, as if she didn't care anymore. And the worst part being was those eyes. Thank God that hoodie covered them for now, or else he wouldn't be able to take it. When she stepped into the debriefing room earlier, blue eyes without their shine. He felt miserable...

Did he cause this?

His head shook as it tried to free him of these ghastly images. Right now, the mission mattered, everything else would come in due time.

Down a ventilation shaft he slid, before coming to a lower level made entirely of catwalks and pipes. The air in this room was extremely cold, and Shadow found his breath's taking the form of puffy white fog. Hope, on the other hand, had no such fog.

"Further..." she commanded easily.

His footsteps went down the catwalk a few more feet, before Hope raised her hand, causing him to stop. Seconds later, she leaped from his arms. Her hand reached into the jacket she was wearing, and suddenly withdrew her coveted wrench. On her knees, she fell as she opened up a transformer box. There were no command board or anything inside, meaning Hope was going to have to create a makeshift one. Fortunately, that time she spent with her Uncle taught her how to deal with his machinery.

So, she started working. Nuts, bolts, and various other things started to fall as she unwired cords, pipes, and many other things. Shadow watched her do this with his arms crossed. Outside, the explosions echoed. Yet all of everything around couldn't alleviate his mind of this pain from within. This guilt, this hurt, this regret.

"Hope..." he found himself saying, as if he were surprised by the word.

Suddenly she stopped, the noise of her work ceasing. The air in this room became silent, as all the two could focus on was each other. Even the roars of battle from outside ceased to matter. Mentally, Shadow began kicking himself as he wondered why he interrupted her. Still, his eyes scanned everything Hope did. She straightened up, her grip on her wrench faltered, and finally, he heard her breath.

"Why...?" he heard, though he wasn't sure if she said it or if he imagined it. Regardless, he had no answer to give.

Shadow started to shift uncomfortably, as his ruby eyes looked away. When he looked back, he nearly had a heart attack. Hope was upon him, her face filled with rage, hate, and anger. How had she gotten in his face so fast without him noticing? Her footsteps were so silent.

At any moment, Shadow could feel her getting ready to strike him. And, honestly, he felt like he rightfully deserved it. Still, the answer she wanted did not come. So, they just stood there, Shadow's ruby eyes looking into her dull blue ones, Hope's blue eyes looking into his dull ruby ones. This whole situation was eating at the both of them, but it was clearly Hope who was hurting more. She was the one, after all, that the disservice was done to.

"Why...?" she reiterated, at the same exact pitch as the last time.

And yet, Shadow still couldn't give an answer. He himself was unsure why he had done such a thing.

She slapped him.

Tears flowed, as her teeth grinded against one another. As expected Shadow was both shocked and confused by the blow. After recoiling from the hit, he returned his gaze to her. His gloved hand found his stricken cheek, as he rubbed it up and down. Still, the only words he could come up with were,

"Nice hit there..."

Was that a joke? Was he really making a joke at such a moment? Hope wasn't sure how to feel, but those words made her believe Shadow thought this all as a game.

"How could you?" she questioned, getting a bit more forceful in her words.

Shadow nodded to her words. It was either now, or never.

"I deserved that," he said, referencing her slap, "In fact... I deserve more."

"You do." she answered, her frailty slowly fading away, "I'm so mad at you, Shadow! I'm so... fucking mad!" she couldn't believe she just cursed, but that felt like the only way to accurately convey her emotions, "I mean! I'm angry, sad, terrified! I'm all these emotions and I can't explain it!" her tear-stained eyes found her sleeves, "Why did you do it!? Why did you cheat on me!? What did I do to deserve this!? What did I do!?"

This wasn't apart of the plan. Shadow didn't want to do it here, this was a mission! He was supposed to do the mission, and save all of the life measures for later. But he couldn't. Hearing Hope ask him why he had done it, and what she did to deserve this was overbearing. She shook his head over and over again, before closing his eyes. Was he... crying?

"It's not your fault!" he roared out, "And you should never say it is!" he grew quieter, while his voice cracked a bit, "I'm so sorry, Hope... I mean... I really am... I know... nothing I do could ever calm this... I can't even come up with a reason why... all I can say was... I thought about you..."

Did he really say that? No, seriously, did he really say that? That sent Hope's rage boiling. In a split second she tackled him, but he held her up. Ruby eyes looking into her's, he ignored her angered expression, and continued talking.

"I could only think of you, Hope, throughout all of it. And, I couldn't stop. I don't know why but... I just couldn't until the end. Right before I sealed the deal... I stopped, as if I had just then regained control." he looked away, "I ran for hours... I couldn't believe I had done such a thing... I just knew I had to tell you." he looked back, "I'd never hold something from you, Hope... even if life would be better. I couldn't let you live with a liar... When you kicked me out... I went back to Maria..." her face grew even angrier, "I don't know why I did... she just popped up with an umbrella, as if expecting me to be there... I went to Night Babylon park because... that's the only place I could think of. It started raining and... Maria was there, as if she went searching for me. I couldn't say no to her... I just couldn't... She gave me place that night and... I just dreamed about you. Remember, that day we spent in Night Babylon's park? The one when you kept splashing in the ponds, despite my protest... how you... how we had such a great day that day... I don't know why I dreamed that day... but I did... When I woke up, Maria tried to seduce me again. She was wearing a cooking apron and nothing else. But I wasn't having it. I was so angry, she had ruined everything, I was fixing to kill her but... I just couldn't... when I held her tight, and felt her hurting below me, I stopped. How could I hurt Maria..." his eyes closed, "I knew better. She wasn't Maria... she wasn't _my_ Maria. She was some hedgehog but... she was just like her. Her attitude, her voice, her eyes, her hair, she... she even had Alice and Wonderland, and she told me how she loved that book." he chuckled, "It was as if the universe gave me Maria back but... I didn't want Maria back. I had said my goodbyes, I had closed my door on the past... I thought I had finally let go... but the moment I saw Maria that morning. I felt all those past emotions coming back. And... I just couldn't say 'no'. I could never say no to Maria... just like... I could never say no to you."

Finally, his gaze returned. Hope's face felt... conflicted... as if she wasn't sure what emotion she should be showing. Shadow let out a sigh, as the grip he held on her loosened. Eventually he let go, and she slipped from his grasp.

"I know nothing I say could ever erase this. I know... this'll probably follow me forever but..." his eyes closed, "I love you Hope Kintobor..."

I love you Hope Kintobor.

I love you Hope Kintobor.

I love you, Hope Kintobor.

He had said it. He had said those magic words she often dreamed of him saying. And it just ran around in her head over and over and over and over and over again. She couldn't believe it. She couldn't... but... it didn't make her feel completely better.

"Prove it..." she murmured.

Her hands found her hoodie, and she pulled it back.

"If you love me," she continued, "prove it..."

Shadow's face flushed a red as he was confused by what she meant. So, she repeated it, but a bit slower.

"Prove... you... love... me..."

"I... I don't..." he murmured.

"Shadow..." she grabbed her hand, and gazed into his eyes, "Prove it..."

His lips pressed up against hers.

Hope felt her self get pushed up against the pipe walls, as Shadow's lips attacked hers. Eyes closed seconds later, as she melted into his love. Her lips parted, and his tongue slid up inside of hers. Hope felt his pink muscle massage her's, and the feeling was euphoric. His kiss was both passionate and powerful, as it defeated her's.

Ah... Shadow's love...

Unconsciously, Hope let out a moan. Her legs grew weak as her body heated up with passion. But this passion was offset by a demon on her shoulder. It whispered in her ear, _Did he touch the other girl like this?_ That simple thought made her grow frenzied with rage. But Shadow knew this. As much as he was an expert in fighting, he was an expert in calming Hope. As he felt her kisses tighten with rage, his hand started to run up her side. Under her shirt, his gloved hand slipped, and along her side it slid up and down. Hope's anger was quickly dulled by this, as her bare skin was touched by his white fabric. Farther and farther up his hand slid, before they stopped. Suddenly, their kiss parted, and Shadow pulled back.

"Is... that good enough for you?"

On any other day, yes, it would be. In fact, on any other day, she'd be back to normal. But she just couldn't let it go, she just couldn't let Shadow get off that easily. She grabbed him by his shoulders, and pulled him back in for another kiss. She loved Shadow's kisses, as sad as it was to say. To kiss him, like this... it made her feel special. There was love in his kisses, she could feel it, but her mind constantly fluttered around the image of Maria. Oh, how it angered her. This time, she broke the kiss she herself initiated, as her blue eyes closed shut.

"I just don't know!" she yelled aloud.

She hated being a teenager. It felt as if she couldn't accurately deal with these emotions. Deep down, she wished she was more like Rouge. The bat would know how to deal with such a problem. But Hope wasn't Rouge, she was Hope. She needed to deal with this now.

She felt his love, she heard his words, she understood, partially. But she just couldn't let it go. She had been betrayed before by someone she thought she could trust, and it left her scared ever since.

Uncle...

"This is all my fault..." he said, arms crossing, "I ruined this... all of this..."

"No..." she said, "Well... yes... but... Shadow..." she looked at him, "I love you to much... I can't let you go... and... I feel so weak right now... I wish I could yell at you! I wish I could leave and be done with it but... I just can't... I just... can't..." she placed her face in her hands, "You... I hate you and love you at the same time! You mush up my mind! When you told me you... cheated... I hated you... I hated you so much! I just sat there, alone... and I couldn't think straight. Everything that reminded me of you, I couldn't bear. I either turned it away or destroyed it. And I just slept all day long. I, too, had a dream. I dreamt that same day as you did. The one, when we went to the park. I don't know why I did it, but I did. I remembered how you didn't want to go, but you did because I wanted to. How you over slept... how when I said I love you, you just stared... but I do love you... I can't control myself but I do..."

She grew silent moments later, and sulked her head into her knees. Sobs and snorts of snot echoed as she cried softly in her legs. Seconds later, Shadow sat beside her. His body lightly brushed beside hers, and gave her a level of warmth in this cold area.

"So... you didn't... make love to her?" she suddenly questioned.

"Almost..." Shadow admitted, "But I couldn't... not with you in my head..."

She gave a light chuckle.

"Well... I guess that's better than if you did sleep with her but..." she looked to him, "Don't think that this is over... don't think that I've completely forgiven you..." she stretched forward, "But I feel your love, Shadow... we'll... get there, in due time..."

His facial features softened.

Was that a tinge of hope running through his eyes?

"Emergency! Emergency!" Omega's voice boomed through the radio, "Emergency! Hope have you accomplished your mission yet!?"

The girl gave a flabbergasted look, as she realized she had forgotten all about the mission. Rushing up to the transformer box, she started to poke and prod the cords from before, but at a greater level of urgency than at before.

"Omega!" Shadow yelled into his radio, "What's the emergency!?"

"Unidentified fly object over head!" he yelled back.

"A U.F.O.?" Shadow murmured, unsure if he had just heard this.

"Affirmative! Scanning the construct as we speak!"

Shadow's fist began to tighten as he instantly went back into his work mode. Ruby eyes moving up and down the walls of the area, he realized everything was shaking.

"Hope!" he called, "You might want to hurry..."

"I'm trying here!" she yelled back, "But Eggman has increased his defensive systems since last time! It's hard to break into this one!"

The shaking now grew out of control, causing her to notice the urgency in this mission.

"Hope!"

"Just shut up, and let me deal with this!"

Her fingers started to increase with speed as she rewired cords, and affected many other things. Finally, she converted two cords into something that resembled TV jacks. Smiling at the sight, she withdrew a small PDA like device from her jacket. She plugged the jacks into the device, and caused thousands upon thousands of data to stream to her PDA. Giving a smile, she fist pumped at her job well done.

But, that was odd... everything was enveloped into a light blue color.

Hope glared up and about at the bright blue sheen, as she tried to figure out what it was. Her skin felt all tingly as she wondered what it was. Suddenly, she was in Shadow's arms, being lead out of the black metal construct. Up the ventilation shaft they went, and down the pipe ridden halls, before they came to the entry way Shadow had kicked to get them inside. At the very edge he stopped. The constructs, in fact, all seven of them, were floating. This blue light was lifting them into the sky. Both Shadow and Hope gazed skyward, and faced the giant monstrosity lifting them.

Large. Disk-shaped. Pulsating lines on it. It spun in an eerily slow fashion.

"What is that?" Hope questioned, awestruck.

"Its called the Egg Saucer, my dear niece," a certain recognizable voice called, "and it is the instrument that will play the world's doom!"

The seven constructs Team Dark had been sent to destroy started to slowly float skyward, as seven holes opened up on the bottom side of the large Egg Saucer. Shadow's grip on Hope increased, before he leaped off of the construct. The tractor beam the Egg Saucer had on them wouldn't let go, however, and started to pull them skyward. Shadow was caught off guard by this, as his ruby eyes shot forward with confusion. He needed to break free but, he couldn't, even his air shoes weren't helping. Gazing down to the soft snow, he noticed both Rouge and Omega were waiting with arms drawn.

"Shadow!" the bat called, "You have to escape!"

"I can't!" he yelled back, "The pull is too strong! But I have an idea!"

His hand tussled a bit, before pulling out the green Chaos Emerald he brought with him. Focusing a bit, Shadow could see the soft snow he wished to land on.

"Chaos Con-"

His command was ended by a sharp pain in his back.

Hope let out a gasp, while Shadow's grip on the Chaos Emerald faltered. Slowly, his eyes rolled into the back of his skull, while he lost consciousness. What was this creature that struck him so hard he fainted? It was large, larger than both Shadow and Hope, hell, it was larger than Omega. Its body was cloaked tightly, allowing nothing and no one to see its face. But one could see its eyes. And boy those eyes. They were piercing red.

This cloaked being stretched forward its arm. Grabbing onto Hope's head, it revealed its hand to be black and scaly, with red lines on it. With a powerful grip, it pulled back its hand, Hope attached, and thrusted forward. His throw launched Hope free of the tractor being and toward the snow. As expected, she screamed, but she never felt the painful crushing feeling of death. Instead, she felt warmth and softness. Blue eyes opening, she gazed into Rouge's teal eyes. The bat was breathing in and out quickly, showing just how fast she flew.

"Are you, okay?" she questioned through gasps.

"Yes, but..." Hope gazed skyward, "Shadow!"

Team Dark gazed skyward, and saw the black seven machines fly into the air. Among them, the cloaked figure holding tightly onto Shadow. The cloaked being gazed back, before shifting its gaze skyward. Flying up, it disappeared into the Egg Saucer. Seconds later, all of the machines did too. They all floated up into the holes of the Egg Saucer, and fused with the machine, as it tightened its metal grips on the individual machines.

For what felt like hours they watched the Egg Saucer move. It stayed in place, rotating, in such an eerily slow fashion. Those blue lights pulsated over and over again. And then, in the blink of an eye, it disappeared. What was there, was no longer there, and all that took its place was the snowy night skies.

Hope's hand stretched forward at the sight, as if she could grab the fading image of the Egg Saucer.

"Shadow..." she whispered.


	9. Those Dull Eyes

Those Dull Eyes

Speechless... that's what the team was...

The stars twinkled so brightly here, as the clouds began to clutter their view. It didn't take long for the snow to fall, and fall it did. Slowly, as if taking its time. Putting layer upon layer of the icy cold substance known as snow upon everything.

Omega moved first. His body, making the stereotypical sound of mechanical bodies, while his head whirled around in circles.

"Rouge," he called, "what now?"

The bat didn't have an answer, unfortunately. The grip she held on Hope unconsciously tightened, as she just stared endlessly into the sky.

"Shadow!?" Hope called into her radio, "Shadow are you there!?"

There was no answer, of course, and the only reply she got was static. It buzzed, and buzzed, and buzzed. That _SHHHZZZZT!_ noise did. Hope couldn't believe it. Brushing blades of blonde from her face, she focused so hard on that radio in hands. Boy, did this all feel so familiar. This was the second time this happened, the second time she caused the failure of a mission.

First the assault on the Egg Carrier the other year, and now this. If only she kept her emotions in check, if only she focused more accomplishing the mission instead of making things right. If she did, then maybe Shadow wouldn't be... gone...

"No," she stated, eyes closing, "No, not again..."

She wanted to yell that out. She wanted to scream her failure to the world, as if that was the only way she could convey it. But she couldn't. She couldn't scream. She couldn't even think straight. She just... sulked deeper into that pit called depression. Grabbing a hold of her hoodie, she covered her eyes, as to not show the other's she was crying. She didn't even make any noises. She just, quietly sobbed to herself. Eyes covered, body shivering, heart lost...

"We... we need to return to base..." Rouge stated, solemnly enough, "We must relay this information to G.U.N. Commander... Then we'll formulate a plan..."

"But..." Hope's weak voice called, "We can't just leave Shadow..."

Rouge's eyes closed, as her wings began to flap weakly. Grabbing onto Hope's shoulders, she began to caress them lovingly, in order to calm her down.

"Listen, Hope, sweetie," she said, "I... know how Shadow makes you feel... but as of right now, we have no way of finding him."

"That's not true!" she yelled, springing up, "Omega, I equipped you with a Chaos Emerald radar! Log-in to G.U.N. satellites and find Shadow's Chaos Emerald."

"I have already done that," he stated easily, "radars only show five Chaos Emeralds as opposed to the usual seven..."

"And," Rouge interrupted, "We know Eggman now has two. The one he had stolen from Station Square Museum, and the one Shadow just had one him..." Rouge gave a grimace, "Let's face it... he has us beat this time..."

But Hope wouldn't accept that. She stood up, and started to throw out a minor temper tantrum. Understanding the pain she was going through, neither Rouge nor Omega attempted to stop her.

It was weird, really. Just a day ago, she could have probably cared less about what Shadow was doing. But now, after their talk, she felt... responsible... she felt horrible... she felt miserable. Even more miserable than before.

Is this how love works? Because right now, she felt as if a part of her was missing...

Omega's claws latched on to her, and lifted her high above the ground. Now cradled in his cold body, she caused her sobs to lessen, as her eyes closed shut. Seconds later, the heavy mechanical behemoth trekked off, Rouge flying somberly behind him.

Ah... the embrace that is sleep. In Omega's arms, Hope did do...

...

"It was my fault..."

The call was so frail, so weak, that it almost went unnoticed in the conversation. But the moment she opened her mouth, their eyes were locked solely on her. Omega's, Rouge's, the Commander's, all of them looked at the blonde girl with the blue hoodie constricting her face.

"The mission failure was all my fault..." she reiterated, but at a greater volume.

"What are you talking about?" G.U.N. Commander said, sitting back down in his seat.

"Its my fault the mission was a failure... it's also my fault Shadow got... kidnapped..."

They couldn't see her blue eyes from under the hood, but they were sure it wasn't something worth seeing. Long had they lost their luster, and not yet had they gotten it back.

Hope crossed her arms in a depressing manner, as her head sulked deeper down.

"I... I let my feelings get in the way of the mission," she stated, "I... procrastinated because of it..."

There was silence in the room. Rouge finally leaned back in her chair, wings flapping weakly, while Omega remained as robotic as ever. The Commander, on the other hand, took a double take of her words, before sitting down in his chair. Hand finding his mug, he took a sip of the burning substance known as coffee, before placing it back down to the desk.

"So," he said, "let me get this straight. Dr. Ivo Robotnik has a flying saucer that could be anywhere on this planet, two Chaos Emeralds, the ability to teleport, and a strange cloaked figure that knocked Shadow unconscious with a simple strike to the back..."

Everyone nodded in unison.

"And worst yet," he continued, "he has one of our best agents, and we haven't the slightest clue where he's at..."

Once again, the teammates nodded, though this time things felt a bit awkward.

Listening to their words, it made the Commander feel a bit... angry. Sure, he didn't show it, but the fact remained that he was angry. But who was he angry at? Hope just explained to him that it was her fault the mission was failure, and yet he bore no ill will towards the girl. Instead, he held anger toward himself. When Hope first joined G.U.N. it was a blessing. A young girl with a mind that rivaled Dr. Robotnik himself, there was no way he was going to pass up that chance. But the Commander forgot one key detail. Hope was still a child. Sure, she may have been more mature than many her age, but that still didn't mean she wasn't young. She may have been smarter than the Commander himself, but she still suffered from all the emotions and hormones all adolescents go through.

She was still so young...

"I don't understand," he murmured, shaking his head, "Why did you fail? What troubled emotions did you have that caused this failure?"

Her chair slid from the table. Taking a page seemingly from Shadow, the young mechanic stormed out of the room, to the surprise of everyone.

"Hope!" Rouge called as the door slid shut.

She ignored her friends call however, and stomped down the hall, her face being covered by the hood on her head. Rouge grimaced at the sight of her leaving friend, as her wings fell to the ground defeated. Seconds later, her hand found her head as she groaned with unhappiness.

"What is going on here?" The Commander said, his face less than enthusiastic.

"Commander..." Rouge murmured, holding onto her arms, "I'm... not sure its in my place to tell you..."

"What?" he questioned, crossing his fingers, "Is it that... maybe, I don't know, Shadow and Hope have been having a secret affair with one another?"

The bat's teal eyes opened wide at the words, as she gave her leader a shocked look. Her face was rewarded with an indifferent one, as he merely gazed upon her eyes.

"How did you...?" she questioned, not being able to finish the words.

"It was last year," the Commander stated, crossing his arms, "Not to long after you were all freed from Dr. Robotnik, I over heard something coming from Hope's room. Normally, I'm not the one to spy but... when it sounds like moans, I have no choice but to investigate. I thought she was sick... proved me wrong... I don't think they noticed me, however..."

Rouge let out a chuckle.

"What," she said, "did you catch Shadow and Hope in the middle of some... _bonding_?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes..." he looked off, "I can't get those images out of my head... Why else do you think I granted Hope's change of residence to your place? I wasn't going to allow their little, _fun times_, to happen at my base..."

Rouge's laughter increased, but it quickly subsided once that air of seriousness settled back in. Rouge's wings started flapping a bit, before stopping just as suddenly. Taking a seat once again, she shifted her gaze back to the Commander.

"So... what do we do now?" she questioned.

"Keeping searching for that Egg Saucer, and study the information Hope was able to obtain from the brief time you were there... Not only that, but find a Chaos Emerald. If the Doctor has two, it's a sure bet he's going to go after the other five."

Together, the two teammates nodded. With a wave of his hand, G.U.N. Commander dismissed them, before shifting his attention toward other matters.

Rouge exited the room first, as to find her friend. Unfortunately, Hope had already disappeared into the many halls of the G.U.N. Base. Finding her wasn't going to be easy, Rouge knew this, but she had a hunch one where the young girl would be.

"Omega," she stated calmly, "scan the information Hope gained at the mission sight. Relay them to me once you are done."

Suddenly, a slot protruded from Omega's body, revealing the PDA-like device Hope used to gain the information. Cords thus opened from Omega's chest and connected into the machine.

"Affirmative..." he stated, before walking off with heavy footsteps.

"Meet up back at the club as well!" she yelled finally.

After he disappeared through the many folds of their allies, Rouge started to think. Just thinking about all of this was making her head hurt, but for different reasons. Why should she care about Shadow and Hope's relationship? Why did she?

Because they were her friends. As jewel crazed, as mean spirit, and as evil as she could be sometimes, even she loved her friends. So, arms at her side, she started off down the hall to find a certain blonde haired girl.

...

"Shadow... Shadow... Shadow... Wake up, sleepy head..."

Darkness, that's all he saw. But that voice, that was... Maria's voice...

"Shadow, don't ya think you've been a sleep for a while?"

A glimpse of light, he saw at first, before his eyes saw darkness.

"Shadow..."

Another glimpse, but this time with a blurry figure, and then darkness.

"Almost there..."

Eyes opening once more, with the figure being more pronounced but... still, the darkness returned.

"C'mon, Shadow... I wanna have fun now!"

"Ergh..." he grunted.

Finally his eyes opened, revealing to him all. He was in some strange place that looked like a torture room. His arms and legs were restricted to this cold slab he lied on. No matter how much he pulled on them, he couldn't break free. A burning yellow and white light beamed down upon the hedgehog, causing him to close his eyes.

"What the..." he murmured.

"Ah! You're awake!" he heard Maria's voice call again.

Finally he opened his eyes to see... _her_... Maria Rivet... She was sitting right on his waist... how had he not noticed her was beyond him.

But oh, was Maria different from before. On her body, a full body black and red jump suit. Her eye sight looked noticeably different from usual, as her blue eyes lacked a certain luster to them. This Maria Rivet looked way different from the one he had been talking to for the past week.

"Ah! I was waiting so long for you, Shadow!" she announced, a certain happiness in her voice.

"Maria!" he yelled out, teeth showing, "What is the meaning of this! Where am I!?"

"Well, the Egg Saucer, of course!" she said it so easily, as if it were common knowledge or something.

"The Egg Saucer?" he said, surprised. Then it hit him, "Wait! If I'm on the Egg Saucer... then what are you doing here!?"

He was angry now, and it was showing. Maria or not, if he got the chance to strike her, he would. But damn those restraints on his wrists.

"Isn't it obvious?" she said, "I came because you were up here!"

"Maria let me go! And bring me to the Doctor this instant!"

"Oh, Shadow, I can't do that..." she murmured, shaking her head, "If I do... there's no telling what you might do. You'd probably... well, you'd probably hit me, and I can't have that!"

She was giggling wildly, like a little girl.

"Any who," she continued, whilst patting him on the chest, "I have you here, to myself now! And We're going to have a little fun!"

Shadow's face grew grey at those words.

"What... kind of fun...?" he questioned, not wanting to find out.

"Ah! The certain fun that entails sex you dolt! You can be so naïve sometimes, Shadow!"

Her patting on his chest grew lighter, as her giggles became laughs.

"But, that's why I love you! Even if you don't love me, and instead love that," her voice grew low and demonic, while her eyes suddenly changed red, "Hope girl!" she roared.

But with a blink, her eyes returned to normal, and so did her voice.

"But, that's all in the past now!"

"What... are you talking about?" he questioned.

"Oh, your relationship with Hope, of course. No more you and Hope, now its just you and me..."

Her words held moxie that angered Shadow. Giving a growl, he began to yell.

"What do you mean by, no more me and Hope!? How dare you say such a thing!?"

"Calm down Shadow, honey! I'm just trying to say, that after this... you wouldn't want to go back to Hope..." she leaned forward and began whispering, "Because I'm going to fuck your brains out..."

What was this girl? The Maria Rivet he knew was much to like _his_ Maria. To nice, to modest, to polite. No, this right here was some nut case dressed in Maria's body. This had to have been a nightmare, yeah that's it. He was just... unconscious... that's all.

"Hey now!" she barked, "Don't go thinking this is some dream or something! This is all to real!"

Shadow shook his head.

"Now, let's just have some fun..."

Her finger floated to the zipper that lied on her collar. Grabbing it, she suddenly started pulling it down and down and down. The noise of the teeth ripping was all that echoed. The zipper went all the way to her belly button, before Maria pulled apart the leather clothing. Her muzzle flushed a heated red, as her bra clad breast slipped out. At that instant, Shadow gazed away, as he started to focus on tearing his arms from the restraints.

Why wasn't it working? Why wasn't he turning red and bursting out of this by now? Was he not angry? He should have unleashed Chaos Blast by now!

"Not gonna happen, Shadow dear," Maria quipped, gaining his attention, "I've sought to it personally that you would break out, Chaos Powers or no Chaos Powers..."

"How... how did you do it?" he questioned.

"Ah dear, there's gotta be some secrets in our relationship, or else they'll be no spark."

Not accepting that, Shadow started to pull on his arms to escape. Maria watched him struggle for a few moments, before returning to work. Shadow's mind went blank so suddenly. Maria was doing something to him. Against his waist, he felt her move against him. Even through her leathery clothing, she could feel her womanhood. She grinded up against his waist in such a seductive manner, causing Shadow's muzzle to, unwillingly, turn red.

"Stop it..." he grunted, eyes closing.

"Awww," she murmured, "starting to feel good, Shadow honey?"

"Please... stop..." he murmured.

"Not yet..." she whispered, "Not until you love me..."

Shadow's face contorted into such a happy visage as he began to focus. He could feel himself becoming aroused from under Maria's foreplay. It angered him and yet, he found himself panting moments later. Maria let out a giggle from the motion, and her grinding only increased. Against his crotch he felt the smooth touch of her leather fabric rub and rub. Feeling violated, the hedgehog pulled his hardest on his restraints, but the same thing happened. He was trapped. Utterly and hopelessly trapped.

"Maria!" he said, voice raising, "I demand you stop! This instant!"

But his words fell on playful ears, as she merely chuckled from his words.

"Oh come one," she said, chuckling, "You know you love it! Has that bitch of yours ever done something like this?"

Oh no... no once calls Hope a bitch.

He lunged forward with all his might and yet... those constraints held him down.

Maria's taunting chuckles began full on laughter now, as she laughed an laughed.

"What kind of succubus are you!" he roared.

"The kind that has her eyes set only on one!" she replied.

Her index finger started to move its way up and down his body, before settling on his furry white chest. Suddenly she leaned forward, and forced her lips upon his. Shadow fought her off, however, by keeping his lips tight and mouth closed. After finding it a lost cause, Maria pulled back, a visage of unhappiness on her face. However, she wouldn't be defeated so lightly. She stopped grinding, and instead started gyrating on his pelvis. She was really, _really_, trying hard to get a rise out of him, but it wasn't working. So... she really needed to get to work.

"Fine then," she said, "be that way! Keep thinking about Hope! But that's just going to mess you up even worse in the mind, ya'know."

Lower on his body she got, and closer to a very certain spot. Shadow didn't realize it at first, until Maria's soft muzzle glided across his crotch.

"Now, let's see," she said, loud enough so he could hear her, "how much do I need to play before _it_ comes out, hm? You have great endurance to rebuff me this far, Shadow."

"Why don't you just stop it!" he roared.

"Because that's no fun! Why don't you just act like a good boy, and fuck me already!"

"What is wrong with you!? You act as if you have the mind-set of a three-year old!"

"Now, now, Shadow! That's not nice to say to someone you love!"

"I love Hope! Can't you see!?"

"No! You love me!"

"I love Hope!"

"You love me!"

"I LOVE HOPE!"

"YOU LOVE ME!"

Suddenly, Maria threw her arms up in anger, letting out a much-needed grunt, she leaped from Shadow's body and onto the ground. Rage was placated on her face, among other things. Her dimly lit blue eyes shot into his ruby ones, before she stormed out of the area. With Maria gone, Shadow let out a much-needed sigh. That was, without a doubt, the most terrified he's been in his life. He may have still been restraint to the table, but for now, he would enjoy his moment of solitude. He knew Maria would come back eventually, so he needed to use this time to formulate a plan. Gazing toward the burning yellow lights, he began to focus on his Chaos Energy. Unfortunately, he quickly realized he had none. Why was that? Glancing toward his hand, he found out why. His inhibitor rings... they were gone.

"Oh no..." he murmured.

...

"Work dammit!" she yelled, "Just turn on!"

Her wrench clashed against the cold steel of the car's dashboard. She was crying, but that wasn't why she was so mad. Over and over again, she slammed her wrench down, trying to get the vehicle to snap on. She was being childish, and instead of thinking, she acted off of animatistic urges. She was angry, and sad, and angry, and sad, and... just such a strange combination of these two emotions.

Honestly, she wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel.

Here she was... In Club Rouge's parking lot. Trying her hardest to turn on Shadow's transforming vehicle, the G.U.N. Auto Tread. Or Phantom Cruiser, for those who didn't know.

After about four minutes of this mindless, Neanderthal-like actions, she fell back onto the cold pavement. Tears stained her eyes and cheeks, while her head sulked deeper into her knees. She didn't know what to do, and she was so mad about it.

"Dammit..." she murmured, "Just... dammit..."

Her knees grew closer, as she hugged them off of instinct. Closed eyes met her blue jeans, as she used them like a napkin for right now. She should have stopped and thought about things, but she couldn't do it. Whenever she thought, she would think about Shadow. And when she thought about Shadow, she thought about the words he said to her.

_I love you Hope Kintobor..._

Why... Why did he have to say those words then? Why did he have to say them right before he was taken? Why did he play with her heart so?

"Hey there, sweetie," that sultry voice rang, "having a hard time?"

Hope didn't bother to look up. She just kept her sight in the darkness, as her face laid on her knees. Her sobbing lessened, however, as Rouge's soft touch fell onto her back. The girl didn't say anything, but the bat had the right words regardless.

"Its not everything you thought it would be, is it?" she questioned, peaking the mechanic's interests.

"I thought... being in love would be easier than this..." Hope replied, already knowing what Rouge meant.

"You should have known better... loving someone like Shadow the hedgehog isn't easy, I'm sure..."

"It's like... the universe likes the... play with us..."

"As far as I know," Rouge commented, "the universe _does_ like to play with you." she gazed toward the ceiling, "Hope Kintobor... genius child prodigy who's related to the Dr. Robotnik... and Shadow the hedgehog, worlds greatest weapon, with a past he'd love to forget... if he could remember it..." she gazed back, "Let's face it, sweetie, your union was bound to be chaotic from the start."

If Rouge was trying to console her, she was doing a pretty crappy job at it. Hope pulled her eyes up from her knees, and gazed long into Rouge's teal orbs.

"So," she said, "we were doomed from the start?"

"Well, I never said that," she motioned off elsewhere, "I said you're relationship was chaotic, not doomed... Let's face it... two people, as strong as you and Shadow... you deserve each other..."

"I'm not strong..." Hope weakly whispered, "I wish I was a lot like you, Rouge..."

The bat straightened up. She wasn't expecting those words.

"Yeah," Hope continued, "you're strong... beautiful... and you don't let things get to you as much..." she looked away, "I wish I was like that... I mean... I'm so gullible... I let my Uncle talk me into helping him rule the world and... I become an emotional wreck whenever Shadow's not around... I'm not as strong as you say... I mean, look at me..." slowly, her gaze shifted back into her knees, "I'm sitting here, bashing a vehicle instead of using the keys."

Rouge chuckled.

"You know, as hard as it is to describe... I was once in love..." she looked off, "I remember how he broke my heart too... I... I acted a lot like you did..."

Hope sniffled a bit, before saying,

"Really?"

"Yeah... it's... not something I wanna explain, but..." she took in a deep breath, "Maybe you can't see your strength right now, Hope but... Shadow's up there, somewhere trapped and... we both know you're the only one who could find him."

Heavy, mechanical footsteps echoed in the parking lot. Appearing from one of Rouge's many cars was Omega, his usual red optics a shining yellow.

"Information scanned and processed!" he stated, "Egg Saucer's Battle Stations have been properly identified!"

"Battle Stations?" Hope questioned, "Those things we were supposed to destroy were Battle Stations?"

"Affirmative!" Omega replied, "From the information you were able to gain, the Egg Saucer's battle stations are fully detachable, capable of flying around the Egg Saucer whilst keeping it protected."

"Its... a flying battleship..." Hope whispered.

"Affirmative..." he shifted his gaze over to Rouge, "What course of action to we take now?"

Instead of answering, Rouge looked over to Hope.

"Only you can track down the Egg Saucer, Hope..." she said, "I hope you're up to it..."

But, Hope wasn't so sure she could. Gazing away, she started to think again, and when she would think she would only think about Shadow.

_I love you Hope Kintobor..._

Somewhere out there, Shadow was trapped. The only person she knew and ever loved, was in some flying contraption, with God knows what happening to him. When she was kidnapped, Shadow trekked all across the globe to find her. So... it was only right that she did the same. Shadow wouldn't have cried. He would have worked. He would have hunted down those responsible.

"Hope?" Rouge questioned, a tip of her head.

"Give me a second," she said, standing, "I need to get a change of clothing..."

Looking over to the elevator in the parking lot, she stopped. Suddenly, Rouge felt the girl hug her tightly, as a smile laid on her lips.

"Thanks... for everything, Rouge..."

"Don't mention it, sweetie..."

Seconds later, she was gone, to seek that change of clothing she just spoke of. Rouge laid her hand on her waist as she thought about Hope, and how the mechanic had changed since she first met her. That thought... well, it made Rouge smile.

"You were lying." Omega's voice suddenly stated.

"Lying about what?" the bat responded.

"Lying about your past love..." he stated easily, "Why had you done so?"

"Oh... what do you know, Omega..." she smirked, "You're just a robot..."

His head whirled around in a circular fashion due to her words, before he gazed along to one of Rouge's many vehicles.

Time to get moving...


	10. Yeah Adventure

Yeah... Adventure...

He wasn't sure when the lights went out, and when the darkness came, but he was so happy when it did.

Here lied Shadow the hedgehog on a metal slab table, tied up, weak, and tired. It had been hours since Maria stormed out, and so he was left alone, to think. Unfortunately, he had yet to come up with a plan of escape, and since his Chaos Powers were gone, he was effectively useless.

But still, his mind wondered. Wondered around the images of a bat, a strong robot, and a blonde haired girl he loved so much. It also floated around an image that looked mirror like to his, only the one he saw had his red streaks replaced with gold ones. Shadow had been thinking about him into the long hours of the night. Where was his clone, the insane one known as Android Shadow? Should he not be here, taunting him as he usually does? What of Metal Sonic? Where was that blue mechanical demon? It was odd that the Doctor had not sent his most powerful robots to guard him, even if he was incredibly weak. Not only that, but wouldn't the Doctor himself have come in by now? Surely, the mad scientist would have appeared by now, at least to mock him! Something felt odd here...

The door opened.

Though the hedgehog was dreaming sweet loving dreams, he immediately woke up at the sound of it. Left and right his ruby eyes moved, searching for it that awoke him. The room was still dark, but Shadow knew he was not alone. Somewhere, amongst all of this torturous equipment, lied a being he knew meant him harm. He tried to pry his arms free of his restraints, but it was fruitless. He just too weak.

"Maria!" he called out, "If that's you, I'm not in the mood!"

There were no footsteps, however, and he was really sure the blonde hedgehog would make a ruckus when she showed up. So, who was the being in the room with him? Who was about to strike?

"Mhmmm..." a low, ominous voice chuckled.

The black and red hedgehog focused on the voice, as if scanning against his memories. Unfortunately, he drew up a blank.

"Who are you?" he yelled out.

"So weak, Shadow..." that voice called again.

Dammit, it sounded so familiar and yet, Shadow couldn't put a finger on it.

"Who are you!?" he yelled out at an even greater voice.

Through the darkness, he could see a familiar figure approach him. It was tall, great, and overbearing. Shadow started to quake.

"No..." he murmured, "That's impossible!"

"Nothing, is impossible, for the Black Arms..." _he _replied.

"But, I killed you!"

"It's a sad day when my own _son_ could kill me..."

"You are not my father!" Shadow roared.

"Still finding that old professor as your, father? Foolish hedgehog..."

Suddenly, his hand stretched forward and wrapped tightly around Shadow's neck. The hedgehog felt the air rush out of his body immediately, as he fought valiantly to gain his air back. But the scaly hand around his throat only clenched tighter and tighter as time went on. Shadow was finding it harder and harder to breathe, of course, and he started to black out. Right before he met the sweet release of darkness, however, the hand removed itself from his throat, allowing him to breathe once more. Any normal creäture would have cut their losses, and become docile at that moment, but Shadow was far from 'normal.'

"What's wrong, Doom!?" he yelled out, "Can't go through with it?"

That low, ominous chuckle returned at those words, as the shadowy figure removed itself from Shadow's view.

"Oh Shadow," he said, "still so arrogant... I shouldn't be surprised, however, since you are my child."

"Stop calling me that!"

"In due time, Shadow, you will learn to do what I say." those red eyes he owned gleamed through the darkness, "Even if I must break you..."

Slowly, that dark creäture that struck Shadow started to float away. Shadow started to groan, though, and turned his head around as best he could to see the alien.

"I don't get it?" he barked, "What are you doing here!? Where is the Doctor!?"

Doom's sadistic chuckle answered his words.

"There are many _friends_ in the world, Shadow," he answered, "they come in so many shapes and sizes..."

"So what!? You and the Doctor are buddy buddy now!?"

"In a manner of speaking..."

"I thought you'd never stoop to low to work with a human!"

"You do so all the time, Shadow, so don't you dare mock me!"

Well, he had him there...

"Then what of Maria!?" he barked, "Who is Maria Rivet!?"

Black Doom's chuckling ceased that very moment. Nothing but silence floated through the air, before the mad alien spoke again.

"There are many ways to create weapons, Shadow..." his chuckling resumed, "Did you think you were the only one?"

"The... only... one, what?"

Black Doom's laughter continued.

"The only... _Ultimate Life Form_..."

Shadow's thoughts floated around the word.

No... he couldn't mean...

The door opened, and seconds later, it closed.

...

_The Egg Saucer. A great machine designed by the mad doctor himself. A behemoth in the skies, it is capable of interstellar travel, as well as teleportation via Chaos Control. With seven battle stations on its body, it can detach these at will, to produce a floating fortress of destruction. These seven battle stations also have the ability to create a powerful force field around the Egg Saucer, making it virtually impenetrable._

That's what Hope's report on the machine said.

Hair waving in the wind, she calmly placed her PDA-like device with all the information in it, back into her pockets. How long had it been since they started their search? Two days? Three? Maybe... when one stays up as long as Hope has, a few days begin to melt together. She couldn't sleep, not when the mission was so urgent. Would Shadow have slept? When she was kidnapped a year ago, did he sleep in his search for her? Of course not, so she wouldn't either.

"Omega!" she called, gazing at the great robot driving the car, "How much longer?"

"Fifteen minutes..." he stated, easily.

"You know," Hope murmured, crossing her arms, "If I were with Shadow, we would have been there by now..."

"But Shadow isn't here now, is he, sweetie?" Rouge tiredly answered.

She sat in the passenger seat of the car, a magazine over her face. Lifting it, she gave out a much needed yawn, before turning her attention over to the roads. Currently, they were driving through Central City, in one of Rouge's modified G.U.N. Jeeps. The young mechanic had dressed back up in her usual black overalls and red shirt, while the bat had decided for something different. Instead of her usual black jump suit with the heart on her breast, she went for something reminiscent yet different. Purple from neck to toe, the bat had on a similar jump suit, it had a cleavage exposing chest, a white belt with a heart-shaped buckle, and shoes that, surprisingly, weren't high heels. Hope had seen the bat wear this only on rare occasions. From what the mechanic had heard, Rouge wore it one time when Metal Sonic became a dragon or something. Oh, the stories her friends could tell.

"Omega dear," Rouge said, gazing off into the blue skies, "How much longer?"

"Fourteen minutes!" he stated.

"Rouge look!" Hope called, "I can see Emerald Town!"

Those grassy squares of lands, the nice neighborhood, the house in the shape of a certain fox's head, yup, it was Emerald Town alright, the home of a hero. A certain, blue hero.

"Hey you guys!" speak of the devil...

In a blue flash, he zipped around the car a good three times... or maybe thirty-three times. When it comes to Sonic, its hard to tell. It didn't matter, as after a second, he appeared on the passenger's side of the car, running alongside the car at high speeds. His green eyes locked on Rouge, he gave a slight wink, before saying,

"Hey Rouge! What brings you 'round these parts!"

The bat, seemingly uninterested with his intrusion, merely waved her hand and said nonchalantly,

"Oh nothing... we just need your help is all."

Taken aback by her words, he slipped up. And yet, since he was Sonic, he reappeared by the moving vehicle, albeit with a few scratches and injuries. Now, his face was stoic and cold, as if not believing Rouge's words.

"Uh-huh, yeah..." he murmured, "Uh... Rouge, are you okay in the head?"

Teal eyes shot holes into his, which caused his demeanor to shift immediately.

"Oooookaaaaaayyy... Maybe you _do_ need my help."

Green eyes shifting backwards, he noticed a certain blonde haired girl. His lips then curled into a smile, while he waved his hand toward her.

"Hope!" he called, "Long time no see!"

The young mechanic gave a dainty wave, while her face brightened up in embarrassment. Though she had met Sonic before, it was still overwhelming to meet such a big hero. Especially when that hero happens to know your secret love affair with a certain black and red hedgehog.

"Hey, Sonic." she answered.

"Tell me how my favorite human is doing!"

"I'm... okay..." she responded, solemnly as well.

"Hey..." he murmured slyly, "You got any dirt on Shadow? Ya'know a little-" his eyes widened, "Say... what a minutes..." quickly he zipped around to the other side of the vehicle, "Where is my depressing look-a-like?"

A few seconds of thinking revealed the answer. Putting two and two together, he pretty much knew, as if Hope's hurt face didn't already tell him.

"Oh... that's why you're here..." his eyes shot forward, "Well! Meet you at Tails' house then!"

With a quick burst of speed, he dashed away, the wind rushing in his wake. Immediately following, Omega pressed his feet on the gas, sending the jeep moving forward.

...

"Okay Gemerl!" A chipper fox said with a smile, "Everything should be A-OK now!"

On the table before him, a gold and black machine lied. Its eyes were dull for a few seconds, before beaming to life with a blue shine. The blue gem on its golden crest started to shine, as a start-up noise echoed from the machine. Standing up from the table it lied on, the machine stretched forth its grey robotic fingers.

"Thank you, Miles..." the machine answered as best it could.

The fox gave a great smile, before stretching forth his hand. Grabbing onto Gemerl's, the two shook each other's hand.

"Don't mention it, Gemerl!" he said.

"Oh Tails!" Cream announced, a smile full of teeth on her face, "I can't believe it! You actually gave Gemerl a voice!"

"CHAO CHAO!" Cheese added.

Tails nodded with pleasure, as he took the time out to marvel at his work. Stepping back, he revealed to all the cane he was propping himself up. Yes, after that little tussle on the beach the other year, the young fox had been regulated to walking around with a cane. This went on for a month or two, before he gained back his usual agility. However, the young fox still walked around with the black cane, such as right now. He tells everyone it gives him a regal appearance.

"Nothing a few weeks couldn't solve..." he said, smiling at the rabbit.

"But... why does Gemerl sound like an old man?" she questioned.

Indeed, the robot did sound like an older gentlemen. Tails gave a slightly annoyed face, before explaining.

"Yeah... His voice'll need tweaking a bit before its... not old like this..."

"What is wrong with my voice?" Gemerl questioned, "I think it sounds fine..."

"You keep thinking that, Gemerl." Tails responded.

Unsure of how to feel about his words, the robot grew silent.

"Hey! Tails! Ya home!?" a certain blue dude's voice rang.

"Sonic!" Tails, Cream, and Gemerl replied.

The blue hero was nonchalantly dusting off his shoe, when the rabbit, fox, and robot arrived. The usual hellos were exchanged, as well as the 'how was your days,' but that all ended once they heard a car park its way outside.

"Arrived at destination!" Omega's voice boomed, "Home of Miles Prower!"

"Omega?" Tails questioned, "Say, what's Team Dark doing here?"

"Well... not all of Team Dark..." Sonic corrected.

Stepping forward, Sonic opened the door and revealed Rouge. She winked at his show of courtesy, before stepping into the home. Of course, she was followed by Omega, and lastly Hope. The air had quickly become still and silent upon their arrival, as the fox and rabbit had no idea how to respond. Well... Gemerl did, however.

"Omega..." he said in that old man's voice.

"I see you have a new voice, Gemerl." Omega responded.

Strange... this was the first time the two had talked since ever. How did they know each other? The air between them was strong and heavy, as if they were ready to kill each other at a moment's notice.

"Yes well," Rouge interrupted, "its nice to know you know each other..." she shifted her gaze to Tails, "And how are you little fox boy?"

The way her body taunted him, it made his muzzle flush red.

"Uh... Ok..." he responded weakly.

"Don't mind my asking but..." Cream said, "Why are you all here? And where's Mr. Shadow?"

"I'll explain..." Hope murmured, pulling her PDA-like device from her pockets, "It... started a few days ago..."

And so she explained. About the Egg Saucer, Shadow, and a weird cloak like figure with super human strength.

...

"That's odd..." Sonic said, taking in the information.

"A... flying Saucer?" Tails stated.

"We're expecting him to attack soon." Hope murmured, putting away her device, "Not sure when, however..."

"Is he attacking us? Like that time with his... Eggmarine?" Sonic questioned.

"We don't know where Dr. Robotnik is planning to attack?" Hope answered, truthfully, "We are sure its in the midst of a Chaos Emerald, however..."

"Then we must hurry!" Gemerl stated, punching his fist into his palm, "Whatever business my creator dealing in, it can't be good!"

Hope raised her device once more, showing a gleaming light on it.

"From what this radar tells me, a Chaos Emerald is located in this vicinity."

"Yeah," Sonic answered, "Tails has one..." he gazed over to the fox, "Yo Tails..."

But the fox stammered a bit. Gazing into the blonde girls eyes, he seemingly read an invisible, yet hidden, message coming from her. Realizing he was invading her personal space, she glared off, a slight blush on her face.

"Uh, Tails," Sonic said, springing him from his thoughts, "You okay?"

"Uh... yeah, sorry Sonic..."

His hand reached away into his non visible pockets, before withdrawing the red Chaos Emerald. It let out a brilliant shine in the room. No matter how many times they all saw it, the luster was still so amazing.

"Well!" Sonic said, grin coming to his lips, "Unlike last time, old Eggbut won't find us with our pants down!" his arms crossed over one another, "Let's hurry and get a move on! That Egg Saucer isn't going to find itself!"

There was a sudden knock on the door, which gained everyone's attention. In unison, they gazed toward the doorway, before Tails said,

"Hello?"

"Tails..." a certain pink hedgehog's voice called, "Tails... somethings wrong..."

Sonic was at the door first, of course, and he opened it quickly. To his shock, there lied Amy, battered and bruised.

"Amy!" he yelled, holding her up, "What's wrong..."

Instead of answering, she merely pointed over toward the neighborhood's edge. Sonic stepped past her smoothly, then shifted his green eyes toward the town's horizon. In the distance, all he saw was fire.

Confusion and fear grew on his face immediately, as he tried to asses the information. Running out moments later, was everyone else. Their it was, Central City, in a sea of variable fire. Overhead, a slow-moving, black disk-shaped, blue line pulsating machine.

The Egg Saucer...

The noise of horns blaring echoed from the city, showing the urgency in everything.

"Oh no!" Sonic yelled, "How did this happen so quick!?"

"It came out of nowhere..." Amy stated weakly, "Like... Chaos Control..."

"AH! I gotta stop this!" Sonic yelled.

His feet started up to run off, but he was stopped suddenly by Amy's hand.

"Sonic," she said, "there's something else..."

"Not now, Amy! I have to save those people!"

"No!" she yelled, "You have to listen! There's a... creäture there... its tall, wears a cloak, and has these piercing red eyes..."

"Is he the one who hurt you like this?"

She nodded.

"It's the same thing that attacked Shadow." Hope murmured, "The cloaked figure..."

"So it's in town... but... why would Eggman attack a city!? That's not his style!"

"The Doctor has been doing some questionable things as of late," Rouge stated, "I think it's about time we went and talked to him."

So, together, the group aimed their eyes on the floating fortress.

The Egg Saucer...


	11. The Assault On Central City

The Assault On Central City

Papers, papers, and more papers... that's all he saw on a day-to-day basis.

There was a new bill from Congress they wanted him to sign, there was the usual letter from some criminal nut job begging for a pardon, and there was some taxes he needed to go over with. Not only that, but he promised the Prime Minister a few rounds of golf today.

Yes... it was truly hard being the president.

The door to his oval office opened up, causing his eyesight to dart up from his papers. Before him lied his secretary. A tall slender woman, she always had these circular framed glasses around her eyes, and her hair was always tied up in a great blonde bun. She would have been a pretty cute woman, had her voice not be so mercilessly robotic.

"Mr. President," she said, shifting her gaze to the folders in her hand, "New developments on the recent string of Chaos Emerald thefts. The one located in Adabat, the white one, if memory serves, was recently stolen."

"That's... G.U.N.'s business secretary," he answered, "tell Commander about it..."

"I would love to," she answered, "but Central City's connection to the satellites have been shaken."

His eyes moved up to her.

"And that would mean?"

"It's not possible to call the Commander, Mr. President."

Yes... it was hard being the president. Especially when the planet is attacked four times every week. One would think he would have gotten used to this by now, but one would be wrong. No matter how many times his home is attacked, he still feels as useless as the first.

"Mr. President," his secretary called, a certain urgency in her voice, "what's that?"

He didn't want to look. A call like that could only mean horribly bad things. But he was the president, and it was his job to investigate such things. In his chair, he turned around slowly but surely. Before him, a great black machine with a needle like point. The president's head cocked at the sight of this machine, as it suddenly started to pulsate blue lights. Behind it, he could see, a great flying saucer. That sight made him pull back in major confusion. But one thought remained in his head.

_Run_...

...

Explosions riddled the city tenfold. Buildings were toppled, roads were cracked, and people were sent running for their lives. All on the streets, Egg Pawns and Egg Gunners, aiming their deadly weapons towards all that got in their way. Egg Walkers and E-2000s littered the skies, and fired their deadly lasers upon anything they saw. Such a brazen attack, such wanton destruction, this was truly not Eggman's style.

Sonic appeared in the city's midst, his green eyes looking toward everything. Fire... it was everywhere! The only time he saw destruction this horrible was when the Black Arms attacked. And, oh, this felt so familiar.

He glared up to the Egg Saucer, visible rage on his face, and pointed forth a finger.

"EGGMAN!" he roared, "STOP THIS ATTACK THIS INSTANT!"

"Ah, Sonic the hedgehog," his malicious voice responded, "My age-old enemy... I'm so happy you could have made your way here..."

The way he sounded... it was... eviler, than usual, if that makes any sense. Regardless...

"IF YOU DON'T COME DOWN HERE, I'LL HAVE TO COME UP THERE!" Sonic roared.

"Make my day, Sonic..." Eggman replied.

Farther up the Egg Saucer flew, before being covered by clouds and nighttime darkness. In its wake, a group of robots fell. Sonic took a battling pose, as Egg Gunners and E-2000s descended upon him. As one Egg Gunner fired forward, Sonic leaped up in his trade mark spin. The blue blur then propelled himself at high speeds, causing him to slam into the gun bot before him. The attack sent him higher into the sky, to which he did the same to a few other Egg Gunners and E-2000s. All of them were sent either careening into each other, or into a building. The destruction of the badniks finished, he fell to the ground, before shifting his gaze back up skyward. All around him, he felt a tingling yellow light. Sonic looked around to the yellow light, as he realized what it was. A laser strike... like the Black Arms.

Before the great laser could reduce him to ash, he was tackled to safety by a certain black and gold robot. Gemerl stood up tall behind him, blue eyes shining, and said,

"Are you okay, Sonic?"

The blue blur merely chuckled, however.

"Boy Gemerl, that old man voice is getting to me!"

"I don't get it!" Rouge's voice cried.

Suddenly, the bat fly up, Omega behind her. She gazed skyward with her teal eyes, scanned the Egg Saucer as best she could.

"Where's G.U.N.?" she questioned.

"The radio and satellites are being interrupted!" Hope's voice answered, "The Egg Saucer is causing this!"

"Ya'know," Sonic stated, "that thing is beginning to piss me off!"

"Danger, danger!" Omega yelled, "Egg Saucer has launched two of its seven battle stations! Caution is advised!"

"Perfect," Rouge sarcastically replied, "Omega! I want you and Sonic to attack find and destroy these stations! Gemerl and I will protect Hope and Tails!"

While the hulking robot nodded, the blue hero and black robot was a bit weary of her words.

"Uh... are you sure?" Gemerl asked.

Rouge shot him a glare.

"You question my orders?"

In a defeated manner, Sonic raised and lowered his arms. Next thing he knew, he was being forcefully moved forward by an annoyed Omega.

"Eggman's machines won't destroy themselves!" he stated out loud.

"Okay, okay, I'm moving!"

Next thing any one knew, they were gone, rushing down the streets at high speeds. Rouge's glare shifted skyward to the pulsating lines visible through the clouds. Somewhere on that saucer, Shadow was trapped. She couldn't fly to it, not now, not when so many people were being attacked down here. Besides, the fly up was to long, and she was sure the hull of that ship was well protected. She needed to return to Hope and formulate a plan.

"C'mon, Gemerl."

...

He didn't trust her.

He remembered her last name. The girl who was called Kintobor. And he knew it was a lie.

Hope Robotnik...

He stared at her. In the flames of the city. Scanning her blue eyes. They were a dull color, absent of life and order, as if chaos was running her mind. She looked pain... regretful even...

"Uh, Tails..." she said, not looking at her, "Can you stop looking at me like that?"

The fox was taken aback by her words, and immediately gazed away.

"I'm... sorry..." he apologized.

"Don't think about it," she replied, "We need to focus one finding this cloaked figure, however..." her head shifted up, "And to finding out what the Egg Saucer can do..."

The device she used to keep all the information she had on the Egg Saucer appeared from her pockets. Sliding through various amounts of energy, she tried her hardest to formulate some kind of plan.

"Now..." she questioned, "Why would Eggman attack Central City... there's nothing in here he would want, is there?"

"I wouldn't say that..." Tails answered, "Not to long ago, the yellow Chaos Emerald was brought into town. Only Sonic and I were told this, since we are, ya'know, world heroes..."

"Oh... then that changes everything..." she replied, eyes shifting away, "We need to find that Chaos Emerald, and quick! I'm sure that cloaked being is looking for it!"

Returning her glare to her device, she started to switch its apps. Coming to a module that allowed her to track Chaos Emeralds, she gave a slight smile, and started off. Tails however, lingered a bit. Blue eyes looking at Hope run off, he kept his distrustful thoughts to himself. But that last name never left his mind.

...

"I love a defenseless Shadow..." Maria whispered, breast pressed up to him.

He tried his hardest to ignore her, he really did, but the touch and feel of her breast leaning up against his chest constantly shook his mind.

Here he was, still stuck on this table, with Maria Rivet rubbing up against him. Her legs were rapped against his, while her bare chest constantly rubbed him. Her smile was scandalous and sexual, as if trying to get a rise out of him.

"C'mon, Shadow..." she stated, "Just have a little fun with me."

He didn't answer, though his face grew angered.

"Just one quick poke, it's all I need..." her hand started to slide down his leg, "Come on... just once? Fuck me, please?"

Still, his voice remained silent, though his face continued to tighten. Suddenly, her hand found his crotch, and she started to rub it closely.

"That's a good boy..." she stated, "Just sit there and let Maria do all the work..."

She may have been strong, she may have been sexy, but that didn't make all of this feel any better. She wouldn't get him, no matter how much she tried. He would just fight and fight, and if his restraints were removed, he would be choking her right now. But damn, those fingers against him felt so soft, warm, and lovely. Shadow found himself to start panting as her skillful fingers teased him so. But no, he would fight her.

"Oh, so good..." she whispered, her voice so sexually charged, "You just keep fighting, Shadow, I like doing things my way anyway."

Maybe this would have been easier to deal with if he could move his legs. But he couldn't, and the chances of Maria letting him free were slim to none.

And those blasted fingers! Shadow wasn't sure what was worst! Maria's hands on him, or her erect nipples rubbing against his chest.

"Good job, Shadow," she stated, "still trying to fight me..." her lips got near his ears, "I like a strong man..."

Her tongue snaked out, and lined the side of his muzzle.

How much longer would he have to suffer? How much longer would he have to sit through this, and Maria's sexual advances. If it weren't for the fact that he was clinging on to the image of Hope, he would have surely relented by now.

Hmm... He didn't know just how much strength that girl gave him.

"I love you, Hope Kintobor..." he whispered, almost unconsciously.

Everything Maria did stopped suddenly. Ruby eyes snapped open almost immediately. Lining the room slowly, the black hedgehog finally got the strength to look at Maria. From head to toe, she was naked, while on her face lied a very annoyed, very angry, visage. Her fangs were visible through her open mouth, and her eyes were... red... flaming red...

"How dare you..." she whispered.

Whenever Shadow mentioned Hope, it ruined anything Maria had planned. She really, _really_, hated that girl.

"Ya'know, Shadow," she stated, "I didn't really wanna do this..." her body turned away, "I was really hoping you would come around eventually... but I was wrong..." turning back, she held two certain objects in her hands, "But, oh well... you didn't want to go through this process the fun way..."

"The... fun way?"

"Yes, my way was much more pleasant, much more... _pleasurable_... but of course, you didn't listen."

"How are you connected to Black Doom!? What did he mean by more than one Ultimate Life form!?"

"We're more alike than you would think, Shadow..." she answered, "Much, much, too alike... Doesn't matter, however..."

She pushed forward the two objects in her hand. They were golden, and ring-shaped, much like his inhibitor rings, but... on them, they had the spiraling black mark that belonged to the Black Arms. Maria giggled at the sight of them, as she slowly got closer to Shadow.

"After this, Shadow," she said, "you'll be my personal slave... willing to do anything I wish, no matter what you think."

He shook his head.

"There's no way I'd listen to you..."

"Oh, but... you have no choice..." slowly, she started to drag her finger lovingly through his chest, "I love you, Shadow the hedgehog."

Suddenly, those two rings snapped onto Shadow's wrists. At first, everything was okay... but then, his mind went black. He sunk into a world of darkness, where he landed on a chair surrounded by nothing.

"What the hell?" he murmured, gazing about, "Where am I!?"

"I'm really sorry I had to do this, Shadow..." she answered, "But I really needed to make sure you'd listen..."

"Maria! What is the meaning of this!?"

"Nothing... slaver boy..."

Seconds later, her giggling echoed in the darkness. Shadow covered his ears in an attempt to drown out the cackles, but it just wasn't working.

"Stop it!" he yelled out, "STOP IT!"

...

He landed with a heavy crunch. Red optics gazing skyward, he saw the floating battle station belonging to a certain Egg Saucer. When it wasn't half-submerged in an ice bank, it was large, black, and had a sharp tip at the end. Right now, it was in complete attack mode. Gun turrets were open on all sides, while electrical poles gave it a shimmering force field. Hard to get around yes, but not impossible.

"Great!" Sonic commented, rushing up, "How the hell do we get through that?"

"Contact with Hope is needed." Omega replied, before his head turned to Sonic, "Keep it busy..."

"How?"

Suddenly, he was in the great machine's silver claw. Pulling back, it launched him forward toward the slow-moving battle station. As soon as Sonic's body touched the force field, he was electrocuted and sent crashing down to the earth. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, the battle station switched its guns down on Sonic. Meanwhile, Omega slid open a panel on his arms, and started to tap out many buttons.

"Hope," he called into his radio, "the battle station has a force field... how do we deal with it?"

"I've equiped you with a special virus that can affect the battle stations," she answered, "but you must be in close proximity to it..."

"Affirmative!"

His radio died out, and his jet thrusters ignited. Taking to the air, he flew up and behind the battle stations. Opening up his panel once again, he started to search his files for the virus Hope spoke up. Eventually he found it. If he could smile, he would be. Being so close to the battle station, he was able to enter its electronic mind. In digital form, the sadistic machine placed down its virus, and exited just as quickly.

The noise of malfunctioning echoed throughout the battle station, as its guns started to flail about wildly. Then, in the blink of an eye, its force field fizzled out. The battle station remained flying, however, and shifted its attention to the robot that sabotaged its field. Omega was elated though, and couldn't wait for a battle. Hands receding into his body, he replaced them with his coveted Gatling guns.

Sonic ceased his bullet dodging, as the noise of falling lead fell upon the battle station. Omega flew about, firing rockets and bullets at the black device, as he dodged its own attacks. His attacks were fruitless, however, as the machine defended well against his many blasts. The blue blur looked at this battle with a heightened sense of need, for this battle was a deadlock. So, running in place, he suddenly pealed out toward the flying machine. Rushing up a building, he leaped off at its summit, and landed directly on the machine's head. Crouching down, he started to spin in place. He quickly gained so much inertia, he began to bore into the black machine's top. And then, he stopped. Not by his own fruition, however.

A scaly hand was placed tightly around his neck. Sonic couldn't breathe, as this creäture's grip grew tighter and tighter. Air rushed out of his lungs, as his green eyes looked into the sky. He could see the Egg Saucer flying above, even through all of the clouds. A sudden clench by this creature shifted his attention away, however. Gazing down, he looked into the red shining eyes of this cloaked figure.

"You," he coughed out, finger-pointing forward, "you're the one who -ACK!- attacked Amy!"

The alien nodded. Suddenly, its other hand reached into the cloak covering his body. When it returned, it held in its hand an other worldly weapon. It was like a pistol, but was silver, and had purple lines pulsating on it. Sonic's eyes widened at the sight. He could recognize that gun from anywhere.

Black Arms...

Suddenly, Omega was on the battle station's head. He swooped his claw at the cloaked figure, and struck the gun from its hand. Though its grip on Sonic never faltered, it shifted its gaze toward the violent machine. Pulling back its now empty hand, the cloaked figure struck forward with a punch. The hit connected to Omega's chest, and sent him flying to an adjacent building. He crashed into it, and landed in a small apartment building. Almost immediately, Omega got to his feet. To his surprise, the cloaked being was before him, its hand still wrapped around Sonic's neck. Once again, it pulled back its fist to punch, but Omega rushed forward with a shoulder charge. He slammed into the cloaked beings chest, and sent him flying back through the wall. Not only that, but Omega's hit dislodged Sonic from the cloak beings hand. The blue blur fell to the ground, and quickly started to breathe in and out.

"What the," he said through coughs, "heck was that?"

"Couldn't scan in time!" Omega stated, "Though it looks like a-"

"Black Arms..." Sonic answered.

Suddenly, the cloaked being returned. Its ruby eyes were still the same, as they shot heated beams into his enemies. Its glance was so intimidating, but the heroes wouldn't be deterred.

"So, uh... what now?" Sonic questioned.

"Show yourself, alien!" Omega demanded.

It must have listened. Hands stretching from its cloak, it peeled back its hood. Once that was gone, the rest of the brown clothe fell. It was tall... very tall... taller than Omega in size. It had three fingers, each with sharp dagger like appendages at the end. Its whole body was black and scaly, and it had red lines running all about its body. The teeth it owned was separated in three sections, with the bottom jaw being two different jaws forming one. Legs were skinny, yet sharp, with its toes being knife like. Last, but not least, its tail was long, blade-like, and could separate into different forms.

The new age of Black Arms was here...

"Whoa..." Sonic said, unsure of what to do, exactly.

The alien clenched its hands, and let out a great roar. The scream was so loud, it forced Sonic to cover his ears. Regardless, Omega aimed forth his guns and fired them forward. The hail of gunfire was quick, and caused the black alien to dodge it in such a snake-like fashion. It was quick too, and easily made its way to the heroes. Sonic launched a punch toward the sudden intruder, but the alien quickly dodged it. Then, it pulled back its tail, and struck forth with a stab. Since Sonic was Sonic, he was able to dodge it by leaping back. Replacing Sonic was Omega's heavy fist. It connected with the alien, sending it through the wall, and to the streets below.

Once the alien got to its feet, Sonic and Omega had already arrived. The blue hero rushed forward immediately, and struck with an axe kick. The alien blocked the attack, but Sonic suspected this. Dodging the aliens counterattack, he gave way to Omega, who aimed forth many of his rockets. He fired them upon the alien's position, and caused explosions to riddle the earth. Fires and flames danced skyward as well on the roads about. Being caught in the epicenter of the explosion, Sonic was sure the alien was dead. To his surprise, he was grabbed by it, and slammed into the earth, causing visible cracks to form. Suddenly, Omega appeared behind the alien. Silver claws grabbed a hold of it, and Omega lifted it above his head. The alien tried to strike him down, but Omega wasn't having it. Claws increasing in strength, the great robot started to stab into the alien's body. It wiggled and wiggled in attempt to break free, before stabbing Omega in his leg with its sharp tale. The machine buckled under the pressure, and released his grip on the alien's body.

It flipped away, landed on a car, and started to rub its many injuries.

"Ah... darn it..." Sonic said, struggling to his feet, "Doesn't this thing know defeat?"

"It seems it doesn't," Omega stated, "So we must teach it defeat..."

He pointed forth his arms, and revealed a powerful laser cannon within. After a second or two of charging, it fired out a purple laser of pure strength. The alien dodged the attack quickly, but Omega's laser followed its every move.

"Sonic!" he then called out, "Quickly restrain the alien! It is moving to fast for me!"

"Whoa there!" Sonic yelled back, "If I do that, what's stopping you from incinerating me with that laser of yours!?"

"You will have to trust me then..." Omega replied.

The blue hero groaned, as he was in no mood to attack this foe. However, he knew the urgency of his work. So, feet running in place, he dashed off toward the alien. That black creäture may have been fast, but no one is faster than Sonic. His arms wrapped around the aliens, and held it in a full nelson.

"Okay, Omega!" he yelled out, "Now try not to kill me!"

The machine nodded. Next thing Sonic new, he saw purple lights engulf him. The scream of the alien filled his ears, but he continued to hold onto his foe. This went on for a second or two, before the darkness of night returned. Sonic's green eyes opened, and in his hands, lied the charred husk of the alien he was battling. Immediately, he let go as he gave a face of pure horror.

"Egg Saucer is descending!" Omega stated, ignoring his work, "We must formulate an attack!"

"Uh..." Sonic said, gazing at the alien's body, "Yeah..."

...

Gemerl was knocked back by an attack. Crashing into the ground, he glared directly at the floating battle station. Thank God Hope was able to turn off the battle station's force field, or else they would be fighting an up hill battle. Still didn't make this job any easier, however.

"Gemerl, are you okay?" Tails questioned.

"Yes, Tails," he responded, "but the battle station is proving to be quite a formidable opponent."

"Hey now!" Rouge called, "The Egg Saucer is moving down..."

Everyone looked up to the giant vehicle as it slowly made its way downward. Two circular panels on the underside opened up, and the battle stations floated up to meet them.

"What are they doing?" Tails asked.

"Returning to base," Hope responded, "Their... mission, it must be over!"

Quickly, she withdrew her device and scanned it. To her horror, the yellow Chaos Emerald ceased showing its place on the map.

"NO!" she yelled, "How did they get it so fast!?"

Suddenly, Rouge started tapping on Hope's shoulder. The teen looked to her face, to see shock. Not wanting to know where the shock was coming from, but knowing she'd have to look eventually, the mechanic gazed skyward herself.

The Egg Saucer had a panel opened up on the bottom side. Standing on said panel... was Shadow... His eyes were completely red, and his face held a certain scowl. On his arm, like some sort of eye candy, was Maria Rivet.

He said nothing... did nothing... just... stared... while Maria gave this uppity, gleeful look.

And then, in the blink of an eye, the Egg Saucer was gone.

There was nothing but silence.


	12. Hunt for the Egg Saucer

Hunt for the Egg Saucer

"What the hell was that?"

Though the blue blur asked a very sensible question, no one answered him. Rouge, Tails, and especially Hope, just glared up into the sky, toward the place the Egg Saucer once occupied. Omega leaped on the rooftop seconds later, his red optics glaring around, his mind taking in any kind of information it could find. Gemerl's jet boosters bursted aflame, and he took to the skies. Darting about the area where the Egg Saucer flew, he tried his hardest to find anything. But alas, there was nothing he could find. Gone, without a trace.

"Was that... Chaos Control?" Tails murmured, finally breaking the long silence.

Just like before, however, no one answered him. The minds of all those involved were just trying to parse what they saw.

Shadow... his eyes were so red. And he looked... evil... No, evil was to light a term. More like... Satanic...

Beeeeeeeeeeeep!

Rouge shot her eyes down to her glove. A beeping light appeared on it so suddenly, and called out to her. She felt to weak to do so, for some reason. As if... that image of Shadow had taken her breath away.

And if she was feeling this way, there was no telling how Hope was feeling.

Regardless, she laid her hand on her glove, and tapped the wayward button.

"He-he-hello?" she murmured.

"AGENT ROUGE!" the Commander roared, "ANSWER ME!"

"Agent Rouge here..." she answered.

Had this been on any normal circumstance, she would have answered him with a witty remark. But the witticism hadn't come. The Commander grew silent, as he gave Rouge a mere sigh.

"Agent Rouge..." he said at a lower octave, "Tell me... what is your position?"

"I'm... I'm at Central City..." she answered.

"I've been trying to reach you for the past few hours. We have reports saying our satellites were tampered with."

"They were, sir," she answered, "and... Central City has been..."

"Attacked?"

"Yes..."

There was a uniform silence on both sides of the radio, as Rouge gave a few awkward glances to the city around her. The fires were still there but... a burning light was appearing over the horizon.

The sun rise... It was going to be beautiful...

"Return to base, Agent Rouge..." the Commander ordered, "We must regroup."

"Copy that," she answered, "We'll be back in no time..."

Her voice held no power, as if she didn't believe what she said. Still, the usual salute was given, as if she were standing in the midst of the Commander. Once that was over, she tapped the radio on her glove, and switched it off.

Omega's face whirled to her, as well as Tails', Sonic's, and Gemerl's. Only Hope's gaze remained elsewhere, for it was still trained on the darkened skies over head. Rouge knelt down to her, and her hands found Hope's back. Caressing it like a comforting mother, she tried to lighten the mechanic's weary spirits. Though Hope wasn't responding, the bat could tell she was hurting.

"Hope, sweetie?" she questioned.

"I'm fine..." she said, coldly, "Commander said... return to base, right?"

Rouge nodded.

"Then," Hope continued, "we must hurry..."

She stood up from her crouching position, and slung her arms out to stretch. As a long, haggard, groan exited her lips, she shifted her attention to the blue hero before her. A smile came to her lips at the sight, before she took a bow.

"Thanks... for your help, Sonic..."

"Uh... no problem, Hope..." he answered, "Say... where are you guys going?"

"Returning to base!" Omega stated.

"Wait, that's it!?" Sonic yelled, "You're just going to split, like that!?"

"We have no choice, Sonic..." Rouge answered, "We really need to get to work looking for that Egg Saucer."

"And without our help?" Sonic questioned, a sly grin coming to his lips.

"What are you proposing?" Rouge asked, a flirtatious tone to her words.

"Eggman just attacked Central City, there's no way I'm letting him get away with that!"

"And?"

"And? Well, I say we work together! Tails can give you a lift back to the G.U.N. Base on the Tornado, and I'll take ahead on foot."

"So, if I'm hearing this right, you are willing to work alongside G.U.N., as long as they help you attack Eggman?"

"I'd rather work alone, but it seems that Egg Saucer can just disappear in the blink of an eye! And If I'm correct," he motioned his hand to Hope, "Hope here is the only person capable of tracking this thing. So, whadya say?"

Rouge's hand found her muzzle as she thought on the subject. Working with Sonic was always a questionable debate to her. Sure, they've done so on many occasions, but the hedgehog's goals almost always differed from hers. Add to the pot that he has this pacifist nature toward extreme measure's, and you have a good old fashion super hero type person. And Rouge hated that. Unlike Shadow, Sonic wouldn't kill, and the bat found that to be a some sort of a weakness. Never going to take that extra step...

But who else did she have?

"Sure, big blue," she answered with a smirk, "we'll have to see what the Commander has to say about this, but I'm okay with it."

His trademark grin grew on his lips, as his hand stretched forth to grab hers. Shaking it with a smirk, he shifted his attention over to his younger brother.

"Yo Tails, heat up the Tornado!"

He nodded.

"You got it Sonic!"

...

Miles upon miles of blue skies were traveled over. Tails' blue eyes looked toward the many dials on his bi-plane, as his yellow fur wavered in the wind. He looked to his side, to see the ground he flew over. More importantly, he saw a certain blue blur dart about at extreme speeds. A childish smile came to his face at the sight, before his gaze shifted elsewhere. Gazing into the mirror reflection of his side mirrors, he took note of the passenger in his back seat.

Rouge stood on the bi-plane's wings, her silver hair flowing in the wind. Gemerl fly through the skies to his right, his robotic arms latched onto a certain psychopathic robot. And finally, in the back seat, sat a blonde mechanic.

A blonde... _Robotnik..._

Tails shook his head. He didn't know why he was so distrustful of the girl. She hadn't done anything that showed deceit or betrayal, but that last name. The young fox had never met a Robotnik that he could trust. And worse yet, this young mechanic went around with a fake last name. Now, there were two reason's for this, Tails proposed. Either she was trying to hide the fact that she was a Robotnik, because her relative is a madman. Or, she's secretly plotting something.

But he wouldn't accept that.

He remembered when Sonic came back last year, after the battle on Genocide City. His older brother was so tired, but he couldn't contain the words he had on the battle he waged there. How he fought Metal Sonic, how he fought a team of Metal Shadows, and how he fought a being with the ability to control town. He also told the fox how Shadow had found love. And that love, was with the girl who traveled with him right now.

Secretly, Tails could see why the hedgehog liked her. She was cute, smart, and, from the few moments they spent together, nice as well. But that last name was so overbearing.

"You don't like me... do you?" she suddenly questioned.

Caught in his thoughts, Tails was thrown for a loop, where he jerked the controls. Causing the Tornado to weave dangerously to the side, he quickly regained his composure and regulated the plane to a stable balance. As expected, he got a few scolds from Rouge, before she shifted her teal gaze back to the skies. Heart ceasing its rapid beating, Tails shifted his attention to the girl behind him. Her face was locked on his, as those dull blue eyes she owned peered into his.

"What was that?" he replied, as if he didn't hear her words.

Hope's face hardened a bit, as her lips became a familiar scowl.

"I said, you don't like me, do you?"

"Why would you get that thought?" he answered, though it was obvious he was just trying to dodge her questions.

"I know, you know..." she said, probing a certain thought, "You're smarter than everyone else."

Though it was a compliment, Tails couldn't help but to feel as if it were some form of insult. He turned away because of it, and tried to ignore her. But he couldn't.

"I... don't know what you're talking about."

"Last year," Hope said, getting a bit more forceful, "when I first met you... I could tell you were smart just by the size of your lab downstairs... but that's not all I found. On a piece of paper, you had my name written on it over and over again, and some how... you deciphered my last name."

So... she did know what he knew. Still, he tried to play the dumb card, as if Hope was waging a battle with his psyche.

"What are you talking about?" he answered, a forceful chuckle coming from him.

"Play stupid all you want, fox boy..." she said, "But I know you know... and... I'm sorry if you feel deceived... it's not easy being related to..." her voice trailed off.

Hope never pressed any further after that, and Tails was graceful for it. The rest of the plane ride went silently, save for the rushing air.

...

Heterochromia eyes gazed toward the information before him.

With the satellites back up, the info had come quickly, much to his delight. With this knowledge, he'd be able to better assess the situation.

Central City attacked, by a mysterious flying saucer. Dr. Robotnik's robots were found on city streets, destroying and attacking anything that moved. Thousands of dollars were estimated in the damage costs, and the yellow Chaos Emerald was stolen. At the fore front of this invasion, a mysterious cloaked being with piercing red eyes. Fortunately, the president was saved, thanks to the timely arrival of a certain blue hedgehog, who, with the help of Team Dark, successfully repelled the invading forces.

And right now, he awaited them.

Things were getting weird, he could tell. Dr. Robotnik, as crazy and unhinged as he was, would never attack Central City. The doctor wasn't so foolish as to become a political assassin, not without a floating space cannon, at least. Then again, no one knows what goes through the madman's head.

"Commander," a woman's voice called through his desk, "Team Dark is here to meet you... they also have very important information to give..."

Giving a nod, the Commander responded with,

"10-4... tell them to meet me in the debriefing room."

"Understood, Commander..."

The aged leader of G.U.N. let out a much-needed sigh, as his body left his chair. Trekking the length of his office, he took the information given to him by his agents still at Central City. Through the door, and down the hall he calmly traveled, his stern gaze aiming forward. Then he came to the debriefing room door. It slid open quickly, revealing to him the great room with the circular desk. His separate colored eyes glanced up to the video screen overhead, before moving back over to the circular table. He took his seat at the end, eyes closed, and nonchalantly opened the manilla folder in his hands.

"Hey Commander!" a chipper voice called.

That's not right... what was he doing here?

He shifted up his steady gaze, and ran his eyes along the frame of a certain blue hedgehog.

"Sonic..." he grumbled.

The Commander never like using the aid of Sonic. The blue hedgehog followed his own rules, rules that he felt would get someone killed. Sure, he won many battles and saved the world many times, but that didn't make his reckless nature any better. It only took one slip up, in his mind.

"What are you doing here, Sonic?" he questioned.

"What? Can't say 'hey' to my favorite G.U.N. Commander? Ya'know, I never got the chance to ask you why you captured me when Shadow first popped up."

Annoyed by the words, the Commander straightened up. His gaze then ran about the room, taking in the sights of everyone else here. There was Tails, Hope, Rouge, Omega, and some freaky robot he had never seen before.

"Uh... who are you?" he questioned, breaking his normally stoic attitude.

"Me? I'm Gemerl." the robot enthusiastically replied.

Since he had such an old man voice, the Commander was even more confused. However, he returned to his stone demeanor, realizing that this craziness was the result of Sonic's being here.

"Well... then..." he motioned, "Team Dark, explain yourself."

"Sonic wanted to know if he could tag along," Rouge answered, "And since we have a distinct lack of a Teammate... well..."

The Commander understood, though he didn't want too. Still, Rouge had a point, as he they did have a lack of ally.

"Prove why he's needed..." he said, regardless.

"Easily," Sonic said, standing up, "Commander! I have information that will..." suddenly, he got serious, "Terrify you..."

The Commander was intrigued.

"And that would be?"

"During the battle at Central City, Omega and I fought something. This... is important, however... It was a cloaked figure, with piercing red eyes. Though Omega and I destroyed the being, it was what lied beneath the cloak that you must know."

"And that would be..."

"A Black Alien..."

Everything stopped. Rouge, Hope, and Tails, all looked to Sonic and Omega, as the two failed to tell them that important detail. Hell, they didn't even know they _killed_ the cloaked being.

"A... Black Alien?" Tails repeated, unsure if he heard it correctly.

Sonic gave a nod to confirm his brother's fears.

"A Black Alien..." Commander murmured, "As in, the Black Arms?"

"Affirmative..." Omega stated.

"I see..." the Commander replied. Boy, if he was surprised, he was hiding it well, "Dr. Robotnik may, or may not, have the aid of an alien race thought dead... is there any chance it was a machine?"

"Negative." Omega stated, "It was too real and life-like to be a mere machine."

"It screamed out in pain when Omega fried it. There was no way it was some Eggman creation... the worst part was, it looked and fought unlike any Black Arms I've ever seen."

"Omega," the Commander said, "can you relay your information to the screen?"

"Affirmative!" he stated.

Standing up, he walked over to the debriefing room screen, and connected its cords to port holes in his chest. His red optics turned blue, as information was sent from his body, to the screen's. It took a few minutes, but then the image appeared.

The video saw Sonic. He was a bit battered, and was standing in a destroyed apartment room.

_"Show yourself, Alien!" _Omega's recorded voice cried.

They saw the cloaked being remove its brown clothing. Yes... it was everything as Sonic described. So different, yet so familiar. The claws, the segmented mouth, its height. Everything about it screamed Black Arms, and worst nightmares.

"I wish I was lying..." Sonic stated, "But that's a Black Alien alright..."

Yeah... with information like that, it was impossible to prove Sonic wrong. And, it was impossible to send him away.

The Commander let out a grunt. Eyes moving away from the screen, he shifted his gaze back to Sonic.

"Welcome to G.U.N., Sonic the hedgehog."

The blue blur grinned.

"Now what?" he questioned.

"Somewhere in the skies, the Egg Saucer lies, along with some answers..." the Commander looked to Hope, "Hope here will find it, and relay the information to us."

"Wait, Commander," Sonic stated, "the Egg Saucer, it can teleport, how is she supposed to find it?"

"You question Hope's skills?" he responded.

"Well, no, but... Ugh! What I'm trying to say is, if we find it, what's stopping Eggman from just teleporting away?"

"I think I can do something about that," Gemerl stated with that old voice, "I don't know why but... I still have files of a certain, 'Shadow the hedgehog', on my servers. If information serves, he can use Chaos Control to do various things. From what Tails said at Central City, the Egg Saucer teleports via Chaos Control. If I can get a few videos of Shadow using this, Chaos Control, I might be able to copy it, and stop the Egg Saucer from escaping."

Almost immediately, everyone's eyes aimed at Tails. Since he was a genius, it was expected of him to confirm or deny the information proposed. Surprisingly, it was Hope who answered.

"That sounds... possible..."

"Then its settled," the Commander said, gazing to the blue blur, "Sonic and Rouge, you two must prepare for the upcoming invasion." he looked over to the red robot, "Omega, you must show Gemerl as many videos on Shadow as you can." and finally, his eyes fell upon the mechanic, "And Hope, you and Miles here are going to hunt down this Egg Saucer with all the resources given to you."

A series of uniform nods swept across the room. Understanding what needed to be done, everyone gave a salute to the Commander. He did likewise.

...

"This is the G.U.N. Net..." Hope announced as the door opened up.

Stepping into the dark room, Tails was unsure what to do. Everything was so dark, the young kitsune couldn't even see his hands or toes. Suddenly, the lights beamed on, thanks to Hope. Floating his blue eyes around the room, he took in its sights. It was dome-shaped, with many command consoles placed about. Finding Hope stationed at the center, he ran up to her.

"In the sixties," she stated, "during the Cold War, G.U.N. had many satellites placed in the sky. They were used primarily to spy on enemy countries, but the plan was much to ambitious at its time. Putting Space Colony Ark in the stars was one thing, putting an unspecified amount of satellites was something else. They tried their hardest, but eventually canned the plan as it costed way to much. That doesn't mean they don't work." she looked to Tails with a friendly smile, "With these, we'll be able to hunt down that Egg Saucer!"

Tails didn't know why but, looking at Hope's smiling face put a smile on his own face. In unison, the two geniuses nodded, and gazed away to the consoles before them. Fingers danced wildly across many buttons, causing the G.U.N. Net to beam to life. Various images all around the planet was beamed down to the room, appearing on millions of TV screens placed in the room. Tails knew this was going to be taxing experience but, taking a look at Hope's face. Well, it made him feel it was worth it.

"I'm... sorry..." he said, "About the whole Ro-"

"Don't..." she interrupted, looking to him, "G.U.N. has this place rigged with cameras. So, please... I forgive you."

In a childish way, Tails chuckled.

Yeah... Hope was pretty cool.

It's not often one finds a genius matching his own.

...

"So... this is the training room?" Sonic questioned, gazing into the wide expansive doom area.

"Correct, Sonic..." Rouge said, walking up behind him.

"Huh..." his eyes trekked the walls, noticing the extreme amounts of scorch marks, dents, and scratches, "What's with all that?"

"Sometimes when Omega and Shadow get into it, they really get _into _it."

"Oh... so they caused all of this."

"When that happens you'd forget they're friends."

"Well, Omega is helping Gemerl, so what are we going to do?"

Suddenly, a panel on the floor opened up. On said panel, an autonomous G.U.N. Big Foot. Seconds later, this was joined by another G.U.N. vehicle, the Hot Shot, which was joined by the Heavy Dog, and finally, the Diablon itself.

"Whoa... they look like they mean business..." Sonic murmured.

"Of course they do," Rouge giggled, "they're our opponents."

"What!? Hey, what kind of training is this!?"

"Just follow my lead." she said, wings flapping.

Rouge took off skyward, just as the Big Foot roared to life. Feet marching forward, it slowly started to make its way toward Sonic. Understandbly, he yelled.

...

Information.

Tons, upon tons of information was beamed directly into his eyes. He said nothing, did nothing, just watched.

The way Shadow fought, he absorbed it. His movements, his abilities, his style, he watched it all.

Chaos Control... It wasn't something to be used lightly. Everything in the world stops, while the user and those he wants, continue to move. As sure of as he was before, it didn't compare to now. He felt foolish, and unsure of himself. To copy such a daunting ability, it was crazy.

But not impossible...

"More..." Gemerl commanded.

"Affirmative..." Omega replied.

Strange... All of these images, all of the videos, they felt so... familiar. As if this wasn't the first time he saw Shadow. The various Chaos Powers Shadow used felt so recognizable, as if Gemerl had seen it be performed before.

Chaos Control... Chaos Burst... Chaos Magic... Roaming Chaos... Chaos Nightmare... Chaos Upper... Shadow Heal...

Skills... skills he remembered using once. No, wait, not skills...

Weapons...

_"We were created as weapons, so why is it that we have hearts?"_

When this was all over, he would know... everything...

...

"Give me a kiss!"

Leaning forth, his pursed lips brushed against hers. Naturally, she giggled.

"Kiss me again!"

Once again, he leaned forward, and grazed his lips against hers.

"Tongue me down!"

He grabbed her shoulders, causing a very audible gasp to take her. She showed no fear though, instead closing her eyes to await the eventual love. He pressed his lips to hers, and almost immediately, his tongue entered her mouth. She moaned at the soft touch, as his smell and taste entered her. She let out a moan, as his skillful tongue fondled hers. Her eyes opened, as he kissed her with such power she could barely think.

"She is insane..." Black Doom commented as he watched the display.

"You wanted me to make a second one, you didn't specify how you wanted it, however..." a malicious doctor's voice answered.

"But look at this... she is madly in love with him..." Doom continued.

"Poor girl doesn't even mind the fact that he's essentially brain-dead." the doctor practically chuckled.

"Touch me, Shadow!" Maria giggled, "Touch me!"

His scowl never wavered, but his hand stretched forward. Through her leathery clothing, he grabbed a hold of one of her breasts. She let out a warm coo at the touch, as his hands constantly groped her. She was getting rapidly turned on by his antics, her muzzle flushing red to prove this.

"No wait, give me a second."

Her hand found her chest zipper, and she started to zip it down slowly. In a sultry gaze she glared into Shadow's eyes. They were red, blood-shot red, and they showed absolutely zero emotion. But to Maria, it was absolute lust.

It was official. She was a few cards, no, a full _deck_, short... of a full deck...

"She doesn't even care..." Black Doom stated.

"You wanted something uncaring, I provided it for you..." the doctor retorted.

"But this is..."

"Do not think of it Doom..."

"Ah!" Maria let out, as Shadow's finger's rubbed alongside her erect nipple.

"Just a little more time, before its complete..." the Doctor stated, "And then you no longer have to watch this..."

"You had better be correct..." Black Doom looked over, "Nega..."

His black jacket, red under shirt, and white mustache revealed something... sinister.

"Hee, hee, hee," Eggman Nega laughed, "Just give me more time, Black Doom, and life will be much easier... for the both of us..."

"Oh Shadow," Maria giggled, "you make me feel so... complete..."

...

There it was.

Floating slowly, blue lines pulsating, black circular disk.

The Egg Saucer...

Tails dragged his hand across his eyes in an attempt to stave off drowsiness. He had been working for hours upon hours, upon hours! Screens this way, screens that way! All of them beaming completely different information.

But not this one. Directly in front of him, lied the answer he had been searching for. Right there, with no rhyme or reason. In the middle of the seas...

"Finally..." Hope stated, minor urgency in her voice.

Tails couldn't help but to feel out performed by the girl. Throughout all of this, she hadn't yawned or shown any kind of exhaustion. Those blue eyes of her's just searched, as the two made various algorithms to pinpoint the location of the saucer. And it paid off, for there it was.

"Boy," Tails questioned, eyes quivering, "how long have we been here?"

He never gained an answer. Hope's eyesight was away, as he looked toward a box on the ground. Her fingers lined the edge of the box, as she searched for its opening. Silly Tails, he didn't even notice it when Rouge snuck this in.

Enough. Hope had... well, she just had enough of it. This weak feeling. This childish uselessness. The teenage emotions she had getting in the way of everything. It was time to take power in her own hands, and she was ready for it. She was no little girl. No, she was a woman. All these years of working had taught her this. It was time to discard these childish attributes of hers, and grow up. She couldn't help but to sigh. All of this... for a black and red hedgehog she loves.

The box opened up. Hope was elated by the sight of it.

A full grey body suit. Gloves. And a heart-shaped chest plate. Call it a little copycatish, but... It felt, oh, so right.

"Hope?" Tails said, noticing the clothing in her hand.

"Tell the others," she said, straightening out the body suit, "we have a saucer to attack!"

* * *

_Trivia Time!_

_Yes! Its already Chapter 12, and now I'm just doing a Trivia Time! Well, this is primarily to dispel any confusion some of you may have, so... yeah..._

_First off, Gemerl's appearance in this story! Now, this will have spoilers in it, so if you don't wanna know, look away now! In Sonic Advance 3, at the very end Gemerl fights against Dr. Eggman, and decides to destroy the world for zero reason. Yeah, I know, what's awesome, however, is the fact that Sonic and Eggman team up to destroy him. At the end of the game, he crashes to Earth, and is eventually found by Cream. Cream brings him back to Tails, who then rebuilds him into something not so psychopathic. He now lives with Cream and Vanilla... well, I assume he does. What I never understood though is why he hasn't showed up in another game since. You'd think that an awesome kick-ass black and gold robot would be the perfect ally for fighting evil but, whatever..._

_And I hope the whole Eggman Nega thing was a surprise. I was afraid this wouldn't be so surprising since a reviewer of mine, Reclaimer7 was able to point it out. But if it was surprising then, yeah me! And you Reclaimer7, get a cookie! You deserve it!_

_Oh well, till next time!_

_Maverick Kay Prime_


	13. Assault on the Egg Saucer

Assault on the Egg Saucer

He laid there, body quaking, green eyes in the back of his skull, with the destruction of G.U.N. robots all around him.

This wasn't training. This was torture! And yet, despite all the odds, he defeated them. Here, there, everywhere, lied the fallen husks of robots. The Big Foot, the Hot Shot, the Blue Falcon, the Heavy Dog, even the Diablon, they all lied destroyed at his feet. How long had it taken him to get rid of all these robots? It felt like hours but... he was sure it was more than just a few hours.

And to think, this is what Shadow did on a daily basis.

"Rouge!" he called out, lurching up, "I... I think I'm done here..."

The bat had disappeared shortly after the beginning of the fight, causing him to battle the rest of the machines by himself. How did Shadow work with such a deceitful person? That was one of the many questions he would have to ask his dark doppelgänger.

The door slid open, and stepping in was the woman of the hour. Rouge laid her hand on her chin, as she investigated the destruction caused by Sonic.

"Good job, big blue," she chuckled in sultry like, "you have great... _endurance_..."

"Not now..." he said, not feeling her flirtatious advances.

"Fair enough," she said, motioning forward, "Everyone else is finished as well."

"Everyone?" he said, standing tall.

"Gemerl has scanned everything Omega has given him and our two little geniuses have finally located the Egg Saucer."

"They have?" Sonic said, as he cracked a few bones in his neck, "Where is it?"

"Here..." she handed him a bottle of water, "You look like you could use it."

Cracking a few more bones in his neck, he gracefully took the bottle of water from her. Instead of drinking it, however, he instead doused the contents of the bottle all over him. A light-hearted chuckle came from Rouge as she watched him do this.

"Ya'know," she said, "You and Shadow have more things in common than you think."

Instead of acknowledging her statement, he instead ignored it.

"Rouge, Sonic!" the Commander's voice called form over the speakers, "Come to the debriefing room immediately!"

In unison, the two nodded.

"It's funny, really." Rouge said as she opened the door, "This'll be the second time you helped G.U.N. invade Eggman."

...

"The Egg Saucer..." Hope stated to the legions of G.U.N. soldiers.

It was strange, honestly. Here she stood, on a podium, before thousands of G.U.N. soldiers. Had this been any other time, she would have been to timid and scared to speak to them. But this was different. She had information to present, information that could make or break this mission.

And everyone's eyes were locked so firmly on her. They took in everything she said, as if these words were the only words they could comprehend. Every movement, every detail, every attribute of her figure, they absorbed.

Maybe it was the clothes she wore that gave her the strength to tell this. Gone were those boyish overalls and red shirt, here was this full body suit with a heart-shaped chest piece. It was also probably these clothes that got everyone's attention. On Rouge, something like this was hard to look away from, but on Hope, sweet innocent Hope, it added a certain kind of womanly charm.

"A full 275 kilometers in diameter," she continued, "the Egg Saucer has the ability to block out the sun if need be. Not only that, but the Egg Saucer can also disappear and reappear if need be. Fortunately, we have something that can counter act that ability, but don't go thinking there isn't a possibility of it happening."

Hope glanced up. The screen above her showed images of the mission plan, as well as the various images of the Egg Saucer. The mechanic lifted a remote, and pressed a button on it. The image changed to these black structures with sharp ends.

"These here," she continued, "are called Egg Pods. They are fully autonomous battle stations, that hook into the Egg Saucer. They can detach, and reattach freely, and are armed to the teeth with various defensive capabilities. They make up the main opposition of the Egg Saucer's defenses, and must be dealt with first if anyone is going to take down the Egg Saucer."

Hope looked back up to the screen. Pressing the button on her remote, the image changed to the burnt husk of the Black Alien retrieved from Central City. There was a collection of gasps and words among the soldiers, before silence returned.

"I'm fairly sure you all know what this is..." Hope let out a sigh, "Its believed that Dr. Robotnik may have allies with the Black Arms. I know you all find it impossible since they are presumed dead but... this thing was real... If its true that Dr. Robotnik has allies in the Black Arms then... this mission will be harder than expected. More importantly..." Hope's eyes closed, as her face appeared visibly pained, "Agent Shadow the hedgehog was kidnapped by Dr. Robotnik during a mission to Twinkle Snow Zone... we don't know if Shadow is still aboard the Egg Saucer but... rescuing him is a top priority." that bit wasn't confirmed with G.U.N. Commander... it was just something Hope added in herself, "Now... we will be taking the G.U.N. Air Fleet to the Egg Saucer... Leading the assault will be Sonic and his friends, along with the one stopping the Egg Saucer's escape, Gemerl." once more, her eyes closed, "Alright boys... time for operation, Egg Saucer..."

There was a uniform sweep of salutes among the soldiers, as each one gave their respect. Seconds later, the soldiers exited the room, as to make their way toward the Air Fleet. On the podium above the soldiers, Hope watched them, a slight smile coming to her lips. She felt powerful, more sure of herself, because of this.

She felt... good...

"That was wonderful!" Rouge said, hugging her.

"I was... scared there for a moment..." Hope replied, before looking up to her, "Thanks for the clothes, by the way..."

"Don't mention it, Hope sweetie, besides I don't think it was the clothes that help deliver that briefing."

"So, uh!" Sonic interrupted, "What are we taking to get to the Egg Saucer?"

"Have you ever seen the Air Fleet?" Rouge inquired.

"Can't say that I have..." he replied with a shrug.

"Oh! Its amazing!" Tails then yelled, "I was on it once during the Black Arms invasion! It's got all these guns and it flies so high and its-"

"Okay I get it!" the blue blur replied.

"Enough talk!" Omega roared, "We must make way to our flag-ship!"

...

Red eyes gazed out the window.

Behind him, lied Maria. She was asleep, a visage of visible pleasure locked on her face. And yet, he just stared forward. Over the horizon, he saw the coming morning sun. The water was rippling slowly in such an exotic fashion.

His face was the same. Locked into that cold indifferent glare, that had taken ahold of him thanks to the rings. He hadn't slept in days, thanks to these things, and every waking moment of his life was filled with pleasuring Maria.

She was right. He was her slave now. And he had no way of fighting back.

"Oh Shadow..." she said, sexy like, "Come here..."

His head suddenly twitched. Red eyes moving back, he glared into those blue orbs owned by Maria Rivet. She gazed at him with her naked body, as her fingers made a 'come hither' motion. He couldn't fight her off, those rings wouldn't allow it, so he just moved forward. They were in no bedroom, nothing that felt warm or loving. Everything in this place was so cold and so distant, like he was in prison. Maria sat on some medical bed, the only bed she could find. Of course, these things didn't matter to her. She had Shadow.

"C'mon Shadow," she said, arms stretched out, "come to Maria!"

His feet moved forward slowly in an attempt to meet her. As soon as he got to her position, her arms wrapped around his body, and she hugged him close. Her breasts were squeezed against his chest, as she hugged him closer and closer. But then, out the corner of her eye, she saw something.

Through the window, peeping over the horizon, many of these flying vehicles. The first many were joined by other, and others, and soon, an entire fleet had appeared. Maria cocked her head at the sight of it.

"Shadow..." she whispered, "We need to go visit Daddy, real quick like..."

...

Over the silent oceans, the Air Fleet came. They had mobilized so quickly, and come so quickly, they caught the Egg Saucer completely unguarded. And leading this armada, at the very forefront, was the Team Dark flag-ship itself. Smaller than the other kinds of G.U.N. ships, this sleek black devil glided silently through the air. Inside of its hull, the Team and their allies.

"Wow..." Tails said, impressed by the view the ship allowed, "And... you made this?"

The one at the command nodded. There Hope sat, in the control seat, piloting the vehicle through the many folds of the Air Fleet.

"I call it the Black Hawk!" she said, smile on her face, "It took me quite some time to build this little thing! It comes fitted with all the things this team needs, which, of course, entails many guns, and the ability to go invisible."

"That was my idea." Rouge said, flying up.

"Though... it has come in handy quite a few times..." Hope admitted.

"Boy... how much longer?" Sonic mumbled, half asleep, "It feels like we've been flying for days..."

"Only, a day, Sonic..." Gemerl scolded, "Do not exaggerate it."

Suddenly, a screen beamed on to life before the team. On said screen, the G.U.N. Commander himself. Gazing at his agents with his different colored eyes, he silently evaluated them, before opening his mouth.

"I hope you're ready team."

They nodded.

"The Egg Saucer is just over the horizon," he shifted his glare to Gemerl, "And you better bring back that Chaos Emerald G.U.N. loaned you, robot."

"I shall, Commander." Gemerl responded.

"Good..." he looked to everyone else, "Good luck... and god speed."

With one final salute, the screen phased away. Silence came to the group for a while, before Sonic let out a groan.

"I don't get it," he quipped, "why isn't the Commander here with us?"

"Believe me when I say it, he would be here, at the forefront," Rouge answered, "But after a heart attack he suffered last year, he's decided to lean back from working too hard."

"Egg Saucer visible!" Omega roared, "Preparing attack!"

Eyes shooting forward, they took aim at the floating monstrosity. Just like all of its other appearances, it hovered there. Black, blue pulsating lines, rotating in such an eerily slow fashion. Every thought of invading aliens one would have, was instantly invoked by gazing at this thing. And they were expected to attack it.

"Wow..." Sonic murmured with a chuckle, "I suddenly feel like turning back..."

"Gemerl," Hope called, ignoring the blue blur, "Get to work."

The gold and black machine nodded.

A slot on his chest opened up, revealing the purple Chaos Emerald held cradled within. Gemerl lifted the diamond of power, and procured it from his own body.

"I would help you, ya'know," Sonic stated as he nonchalantly tossed the red Chaos Emerald up and down, "But... I'm not to good at using Chaos Control myself."

Gemerl nodded, and if he could, he would smile.

"Don't worry about it, Sonic." shining blue eyes gazing upward, he lifted the purple Chaos Emerald within his hand, "CHAOS CONTROL!"

And, in a brilliant flash of light, he was gone. All stood and stared at the area he once occupied.

"Uh, Tails," Sonic murmured, "You really need to get rid of that old man voice..."

...

"Daddy!" Maria cried as the door slid wide open.

The maniacal doctor turned around, to face the fear faced hedgehog. Maria Rivet gazed up to Nega, as her blue eyes started to quiver.

"Yes, Maria?" he questioned, beckoning her forward with a finger.

"Uh, Daddy... there are people coming over the horizon! They look like G.U.N.'s Fleet!"

He found her words to be childish, and unnecessary information. Giving a dark and malicious chuckle, he reassured his 'daughter' of her fears.

"Do not worry about it, Maria," he stated, "just make sure Shadow does not come in contact with others, and all will be taken care of..."

"You... you promise, Daddy?" she said, leaping up and down with clapping hands.

"I promise... now run along, Maria! I have a lot of work to deal with!"

That scared visage from earlier was so quickly replaced with happiness. Reassurance from her 'Daddy' made her feel so giddy. Leaping up, she quickly placed a loving kiss on his cheek, before running off out of the room. Once he was sure the hedgehog had left, the sadistic mad man wiped clean the place on his cheek where she kissed him. Giving an annoyed growl, he couldn't help but to wonder about the works that came to her creation.

"Playing with life and death is too much," he murmured, "I'm just going to stick with robots after this..."

"NEGA!" a monstrous voice boomed.

The floor began to ripple and waver, like liquid. Seconds later, coming out from the otherworldly distortion, was the alien king Black Doom. He slowly floated over the floor toward Eggman Nega, while the doctor seemed to ignore his appearance.

"What are you doing, Nega!?" Doom questioned, "Those insufferable humans, are right outside your door!"

"And?" Nega questioned, "What's the matter?"

"Why are you just sitting here!?"

"Calm down, Doom. This is all going according to plan."

"You fool! You only have four of the Chaos Emeralds!"

"While the other two are being brought directly to us..." he said, smiling.

"So... this is a trap?"

"In a way, Doom. Remember, there are many ways to when a battle, brute force is just one."

"So what is your plan, Nega? Even if you do get the Chaos Emeralds from those humans, you will only have six of the required seven."

"I know... and the answer is simple..." he gave a grin, "Just give me some time."

"You have had enough time, Nega! If I found out that you are playing with me, you will suffer for it!"

"I understand, Doom, now please leave me be, I have a lot of work to do..."

Doom's merciless three eyes aimed directly at the doctor, who appeared to be indifferent to everything. Nega's eyes were aimed directly at a screen before him, reading all the information it had to give. What Doom wanted to do was crush his skull, but he couldn't. Not now, at least. As hard as it was to admit it, he needed the Doctor's help.

The floor started to ripple once again, and Doom sank through the floor. Once the intruder had exited the room, Nega let out a sigh of annoyance.

"Foolish Alien," he said out loud, "So darn annoying..."

Seconds later, he started grinning. Pressing a button on the command console before him, he caused a secret slot to open up. Within said slot, the light blue Chaos Emerald.

"Foolish, indeed..." he darkly chuckled.

...

Gemerl appeared on the Black Hawk's hull. Blue eyes shining like light, he shot a deadly glare toward the Egg Saucer. Purple Chaos Emerald in hand, he thought hard on everything he learned in the past day. Shadow's movements, the use of the Chaos Control. He knew it would be hard channeling the abilities of Shadow, and yet, he didn't find it to be impossible. He felt as if, he had done it before. Well... enough thinking... time for action.

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

The Chaos Emerald in his hand started to shake and shine. Producing a brilliant and powerful light, it masked his true intentions. He could feel it, resonating with the Egg Saucer. The very contraption used to disappear and reappear someone else.

It was the Master Emerald.

That caught Gemerl off guard, but did nothing to hold him back. He could see the machines feeding off of the Master Emerald, twisting and using its abilities to its own evil whim. With a bit more of hard thinking, he severed the ties.

"Chaos Control interrupted!" Gemerl yelled, "Prepare for invasion!"

His command spread over the airways immediately. The various vehicles of the G.U.N. Fleet bursted forward at high speeds, as their sides opened up. Inside of these opened up sections, were runways, lined to the teeth with various G.U.N. vehicles. The jets from within launched from these runways, and immediately took aim at the flying Egg Saucer. They were met by Eggman's robots.

Fantastic explosions riddled the skies, as the beginning of a violent skirmish started in the air. Rockets and bullets tore through enemies on both sides, sending metal and scrap falling to the ocean below. Amongst these skyward fireballs, was the Black Hawk.

Hope kept the Team Dark flagship protected, as she expertly dodged gun fire as well as returned it. Closer, and closer they got to the Egg Saucer, but more importantly, closer and closer she got to Shadow.

"Egg Pod's detaching!" Omega yelled, "Prepare for invasion!"

"Booooooy!" Sonic yelled, "I can't wait to get in!"

Suddenly, Gemerl appeared in the ship's command center via Chaos Control. Gazing to everyone, he relayed new information to them.

"The Egg Saucer," he said, "it has the Master Emerald."

"Really?" Tails questioned, "No wonder something as big as that could use Chaos Control... but... if the Master Emerald is here... where is Knuckles?"

"I know old knuckle head won't like this..." Sonic quipped, "Doesn't matter though. Once we get through this, we'll deliver the Master Emerald back to him."

"Egg Pods properly detached!" Omega exclaimed, "Start Invasion!"

Though his words held a command to all, it was primarily directed at Hope.

She clamped her hand on her heart-shaped breast-plate, as her mind ran over the thoughts. She needed to be calm, and composed for what her mission needed. She needed to be prepared.

"Hope?" Rouge whispered.

"I'm fine..." she said, "Everyone strap in... this is going to be violent."

Her hands grooved their way onto the Black Hawk's controls. As everyone sat down in preparation, she turned her blue eyes toward the skies. Before them, they saw bullets and gunfire being traded every which way. More importantly, the Egg Pod's, those black floating battle stations, were starting to slowly descend from the air. Hope locked her eyesight on it. The circular areas from which they fell were the team's ticket inside. She slammed on the ship's levers, and started to press and prod many buttons.

The Black Hawk dashed forward, as the red flames of its thrusters began to quake and ripple. Flying now at speeds to high to calculate, the great vehicle dodged up and down past many G.U.N. bots as well as Eggman's robots. With each second, it got closer and closer to the Egg Saucer's bottom side, while those circular holes continued to close, ever so slowly.

Strange... it was like...

"Just a little further..." Sonic stated, breaking Hope's thoughts.

Realizing now was not the time to daze off, the mechanic shot forth her eyes with a sharpened glare. The circular areas from which the Egg Pods were dispatched, started to slowly close and clamp up. It was now or never.

Hope pushed forward on the speed. The Black Hawk dashed forward with massive speeds. The closing panel increased in speed. Hope closed her eyes, bracing for impact. She felt something jerk the Black Hawk. Everyone shook and wavered, as a few screams were heard. Hope was sure it came from herself. Finally, those blue orbs of hers opened up, revealing to the girl the area. Gone were the endless blue seas and morning skies. Instead, here was this massive expansive room, where the Black Hawk was nothing but a tiny little spec.

"I... think we're inside..." Tails murmured.

Indeed they were, in the hangar of the Egg Pods. From one end to the other, everything was empty. It was, honestly, terrifying.

"So what next?" Sonic questioned.

"Remember those guns I told you about?" Hope questioned, motioning her finger over a button.

She pressed it. The front end of the Black Hawk slid open, revealing powerful double-barreled guns. A targeting parameter floated to Hope's head, but it was unnecessary as it would be impossible to miss her target. Grabbing onto a trigger placed on the control lever, she started to fire wildly. Bullets tore into the ceiling, causing metal to bend and snap away, eventually revealing a hall on the other side. A few more minutes of firing, and the hole was big enough to fit the entire Black Hawk. Hope rammed inside of it, creating the perfect little landing hole. The Black Hawk pulled and tugged a bit, but was still firmly placed into the hall.

Hope glared around the control center. Though everyone was a bit shaken and dazed, they quickly regained there composure to complete this mission. Sonic broke out first. He didn't need to be given mission details, as his mission was placed firmly in his head thanks to memory. Find Eggman, battle robots, battle Eggman's super-duper robot, win, then go home. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy. Omega's mission was essentially the same thing. Except with more fire and bullets. Destroy, destroy, destroy. Gemerl would leave with Sonic, Rouge would leave with Omega. That left Hope and Tails.

"So what now?" the fox questioned with their friends gone.

"We are left with finding Shadow..." Hope answered as she grabbed a gun from under the commanding chair.

"How are we going to do that? This place is enormous!"

Hope gave a chuckle.

"I've got that..." she answered.

Opening the door, she stepped out into the Egg Saucer's expansive silver halls. The scrap of robots destroyed from their crash littered the floor, but unlike many other times where she felt pity for the robot's, she felt nothing but apathy now.

As her pistol hung in her hands, the mechanic searched valiantly through her device. Thanks to the hacking of the Egg Pods, she was able to download a full map of the Egg Saucer. Though it didn't show where Shadow was trapped in, it gave a good sense of area.

"This way..." she said, gun aiming forward.

As her feet started off, Tails trekked up after her.

275 Kilometers to search. Eggman's robots all around. And there may be a Black Alien or two among them.

Time to go...


	14. Who is Maria Rivet?

Who Is Maria Rivet?

He stroked his massive long mustache. Her fingers twirled about the white hairs, as his eyes scanned closely the information on the screen. He could hear the explosions, he could feel them too. Those G.U.N. agents were stronger than history told him, but he wasn't scared nor ancy. No... he expected all of this to happen. In fact, he _knew_ all of this was going to happen.

Coming from the future, one learns things about the past. He knew of this day, he knew what was going to happen, and he knew how it was going to end. And right now, he was expecting a very important guess.

A panel from the roof snapped open and fell. Speak of the devil.

Boot clad feet dangled from the panel, followed shortly by a grey body suit. She hung on the pipe from within, shaking about while she did so, and then fell to the ground. Her eyes were filled with resolve, while her finger's held tightly onto the gun in her hand. She flicked a few blonde blades from her hair, gave a daunting look toward the doctor before her, and then gasped.

"Dr... Robotnik?" she questioned, unsure of herself.

He shook his head, finding her words so childishly cute. Hand falling from mustache, he turned to face her. Here, Hope Kintobor stood before him, confusion placed firmly on her face. And yet, the grip she held on her pistol never faltered.

"Did you call me... Dr. Robotnik?" he questioned, hand on chest.

"Who are you? And why do you look like Eggman?"

The doctor gave an unsettling chuckle, his fingers once again finding his magnificent mustache. He couldn't help but to analyze Hope, and how womanly she looked wearing those clothing. He gave a grin.

"Tell me, Hope, how have you been ever since this started?"

The girl's gaze sharpened, and she instantly jabbed forth the barrel of her gun. And yet, the mad doctor never showed fear.

"How do you know my name?"

Once again he chuckled, but now his fingers left his mustache.

"I know a lot about you, Hope, what you will do, how you will die... those sort of things..."

She shook in her boots, but her gun never left his sights.

"Who are you?"

The doctor must have been annoyed now, as he let out such a loud sigh.

"Call me, Eggman Nega," he stated, "I'm Dr. Robotnik, your uncle's, great great descendent."

That thought made Hope stick out her tongue in disgust. If this man's words were true, and she didn't really think they were, then that means that one of these days her uncle was going to reproduce. God help the woman who bares his child.

"How do you know about me, then? Where did you come from?"

"I come from two hundred years in the future, of course, a world where... things are just too good for my kind."

"What? Just who are you!?"

"I explain, and yet you don't listen..." he sighed, "Why bother?"

"Tell me, who are you!?"

"Why is it so hard to understand, Hope dear? I am Eggman Nega, I come two hundred years from the future, my ancestor is Dr. Ivo Robotnik, the genius. As you can probably tell, I sorta see my grand ancestor as a mentor of sorts. I take after him, obviously enough."

Could she really believe this? Gazing into the eyes of a madman who looked so much like her own uncle? No, no, no, this had to be some plan. But... not even her uncle would come up with a lie as wild as this. Would he?

"Okay," she commented, gun falling, "let's just say, hypothetically speaking, that I believe you..."

"Hypothetically?" Nega commented, "Fine... suit yourself..."

"Okay... So.. If you come from the future, hypothetically, then... why are you here? What do you want?"

Nega gave a chuckle.

"Hypothetically?" he said, almost rhetorically.

"Hypothetically..." she answered.

"Okay then... Well, like I said, I take after my ancestor in more ways than just, genius... What I want to do, Hope dear, is take over the world, simply enough."

"Of course..."

"Well, it was my ancestor's dying wish, I might as well fulfill it." his lips curled up.

"So... what... you made this? You made the Egg Saucer? All for the sake of taking over the world?"

"With this thing? No, no, no! I already know how this day will end!"

"And how will that be?"

"With the destruction of the Egg Saucer, of course! G.U.N. will succeed, and this thing will crash somewhere in northern Adabat. And such a violent explosion it will be! It's so unfortunate I won't be here to see it... Oh well!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Hope said, unsure of what she just heard, "You know how this day will end?"

"I said I came from the future! I hacked G.U.N.'s old database from my time, read all of its files, then came back in time to perform the plan I am doing now! It's kind of like Inception, ya'know..."

"Wait, chill out, this is blowing my mind on so many levels..." okay, now she was starting to believe, "You're Eggman Nega, my uncle's descendant from the future, who has come back in time to perform a plan you read about?"

"Yes..."

"Then... If you know it fails, why try it?"

"There's two ways to win a battle, Hope dear! A failure today, can be a victory in the long run."

"Then what do you want!?"

"Nah, ah, ah! I can tell you everything you want to know, save for that!"

"Then..." she started to toil a bit, "Whatof the Black Arms?"

...

_"Ah yes, the Black Arms... they are an interesting species!" he said, hand on mustache._

"Gemerl!" Sonic cried, "Where is the Master Emerald!?"

"Closer to the center!" the robot replied, "We must hurry, I can feel it getting closer!"

They were running through the halls at high speeds. All behind them lied the scrap and heaps of destroyed robots. None would be spared there mission, as all was just collateral damage to them. Outside, they could hear the destruction being waged above the seas. It was truly an exhilarating feeling.

The noise of rushing wind echoed into Sonic's ears. He turned skyward, facing the noise as it got ever so close. That noise, it sounded just as familiar as the first time it roared. A grin came to his lips, he knew who it was.

"Metal Sonic!" he roared, coming to a stop.

But his statement was wrong. Sure, it was close, but so, very far off.

Gemerl stared off down the halls they were rushing down. It landed before them, with its gold and black color scheme. Sonic was laughing at first, but his giddiness quickly melted away. Those red eyes... it looked so much more violent on this being, than on his aged counterpart.

Metal Sonic 3.0...

It glared up, red eyes scanning its foes, then started producing a weird metal clicking noise.

"Scanning... Scanning... Scanning... Scanning Complete... Copy status, Chaos Zero..."

Gemerl's thrusters rocketed, and he skated back to his blue ally. Sonic, however, got into fighting position, albeit slowly. Metal Sonic 3.0 glared holes at his foes. The clicking noise it was making from before had quickly dissipated, and been replaced with rushing water. The gold and black machine stepped forward. Its foot step made water splash at its feet. It stepped forward again. Once more, water was tossed up from an invisible puddle.

It sank into the ground.

"What the heck!?" Sonic cried out.

_"I came back in time shortly after the defeat of Black Doom by Shadow..." Nega explained._

Sonic glared downward. At his toes, a puddle he hadn't noticed before. As Gemerl cried out in surprise, the blue blur tried to escape. It was too late, as a gold hand reached out, and clamped around his ankle. Seconds later, the rest of Metal Sonic 3.0's body reached out. His other hand grabbed a hold of Sonic's shoulder, and shoved him powerfully to the ground. An audible cracking noise boomed out, as Sonic let out a gasp of pain. The next thing he knew, he was submerged in water.

_"Black Doom was pretty close to death, but I revived him."_

_ "Why did you do it?" she asked, "Don't you know how dangerous he is?"_

_ "Of course I do, I'm no fool, it just that his interests happen to align with mine."_

_ "Doom wants to kill all humans, that includes you."_

_ "I know..."_

Where did this water come from? Sonic was kicking, twisting, and turning, all for the sake of escaping this watery grave. Before him was Metal Sonic 3.0, who was most surely trying to drown him. Suddenly a powerful electrocution moved through the water, zapping both Sonic and Metal Sonic 3.0 full of pain. Suddenly, they were both expelled from the machine-made puddle, and launched skyward. Sonic crashed some yards away, at the feet of his robotic ally. Gemerl's hand was surging with Chaos Energy, as he glared toward the area Metal Sonic 3.0 stood.

"Chaos Spear..." Gemerl stated, hand stretching forward, "Something I copied from Shadow..."

"You should have warned me," Sonic replied, grabbing on to his out stretched hand, "I probably could have braced for impact."

In unison, the two glared toward Sonic's gold and black doppelgänger. The machine's red eyes beamed holes into the two, as its body recovered from the shocking experience. Seconds later, the rocket on its back exploded with flames, and it dashed forward. Since Sonic was still recovering from the shock as well, Gemerl rocketed forward to counter attack.

_"But he was too hurt to fight off my help," Nega continued, "and since Shadow destroyed the Black Comet, there was very little he could do. I decided to help him out with his lost of army." he wagged his finger, "I created four Super Soldiers, designed from Black Arm blood."_

_ "So, what, you scratched his back, and he scratched yours?"_

_ "In a manner of speaking... Doom knew that if he mounted a counter attack, Shadow would kill him. So we formulated a plan to get Shadow on our side... That's where... Maria Rivet came in to play..."_

_ Hope gasped._

The two gold and black clones clashed. Gemerl's hands were intertwined with Metal Sonic 3.0's, as the duo fought for supremacy. Between the two, electricity was sent flying, slamming against walls, ceilings, and floors. The power show was great for all that watched, as well as dangerous.

Suddenly Metal Sonic 3.0 struck forward with a knee. It collided into Gemerl's chest, and caused his grip to falter. Following up on this attack, the gold and black clone struck him with a powerful fist to the chin. The attack sent Gemerl flying back, and he crashed into the wall. With his opponent momentarily dazed, Metal Sonic 3.0 started to charge up a blue beam in its chest. After reaching its fine point, it fired forth the beam. Gemerl shook his head back and forth, before locking his eyes on the oncoming attack. So, hand stretching forward, he started to distort time and space around him, producing a rapidly changing shield of power. The blue beam slammed into the shield, and protected Gemerl from damage.

Right now, he was so happy he copied Shadow's abilities.

Metal Sonic 3.0's beam fizzled seconds later, and his gaze locked onto Gemerl. He was about to follow-up his attack with a punch, but a rogue ring struck him in his head. A second later, Sonic struck his body full force in a spin ball. The attack held so much kinetic energy, it propelled Metal Sonic straight through the wall. Sonic crashed to the earth with a 'THUD!' as his body continued to quake in pain. It wouldn't stop him, however.

"Sonic, are you alright?" Gemerl questioned.

"Yeah," he replied, "I'm alright..."

He shuffled to his feet. Through the hole in the wall he created, he saw the red eyes belonging to Metal Sonic 3.0.

"I guess... it's not gonna be as easy as I thought..." he murmured.

...

"What does Maria Rivet have to do with all of this!?" Hope roared.

The tension in the air had returned, and Hope's gun pointed forward. Like before, Nega showed no fear or apprehensive. Instead, his finger left his white mustache.

"Black Doom came to me with an idea..." Nega continued, "We create a second Ultimate Life form... One with the same power and strength of Shadow, and one that will do whatever Doom wanted." Nega sighed, "So I got to work. Copying Gerald's original designs, and once again using Doom's blood, I got to work creating a second. But things didn't go as well as planned... I came to a hitch early on... we couldn't exactly copy everything from the last time, as Doom's blood had been... well... let's just say not everything of Doom remained after his fight with Shadow..." Nega chuckled, "Anyway, we came up with a second idea... create a being that would lead Shadow astray, and bring him to our side..."

"Maria Rivet!" Hope seethed.

"Yesssss, Hope dear, Maria Rivet. I knew almost immediately what to do. Playing with Shadow's emotions was easy, as there were only three people who could lead him to our side."

"Th... Three?" Hope whispered.

"Maria Robotnik... Rouge the bat..." he looked forward, "And of course, you..."

Hope's gun fell as she learned of these words. However, she kept her gaze strong.

"So..." Nega continued, "I got to work..."

...

Explosions riddled the halls. Omega's rockets danced among all of Eggman's robot's, reducing them to ash and tin. If he could smile, most surely he would be doing so now, as nothing gave him more joy than the destruction he caused. Rouge was a bit more reserved, as she took to the ceilings, floating over head as her violent partner did what he did best. With every step they took, she felt as if she was being watched.

"I will eradicate all Eggman robots!" Omega stated as usual.

Rouge nodded to his words, but her eyes were searching valiantly for those that _weren't_ Eggman robots. Where were the Black Arms? Her answer came to her personally.

A purple fire-ball came her way. Just a gracefully as every, she dodged it quickly, watching it collided with the wall. It exploded in a pink and purple haze, and once that dissipated, it showed a hole in the wall. Rouge grimaced at the sight, before her teal eyes went searching for her attacker. There it was, at the end of the hall. Gone was the cloak they usually wore, for right now it was pointless. Rouge could feel her heart stop at the sight. It was so damn tall, and demonic looking. As if Doom had plunged his hands into the depths of hell to create this being.

The beams segmented mouth split open, and it let out the greatest roar known to man. This caught Omega's sound sensors, as the robot immediately spun around to face this being. The alien stopped screaming suddenly, and fell to its fours. Like some sort of animal, it dashed forth on hands and feet. Rouge flew back to get behind Omega, while the robot himself aimed forth both of his hands. Switching the rockets out for gatling guns, he fired an endless storm of bullets. The bullets put holes and dents in the floors, walls, and ceilings, as the alien dodged left and right. In no time at all, it arrived at Omega's position, and lunged forth. Bladed hands sharpened, it dove its claws into Omega's chest. The machine made a grunting noise, but was still very able to battle. His guns receded into his arm, and was replaced by his silver claw. Grabbing the alien by the shoulder, he tore it from his chest, and slammed it into the ground. The area where he did so had a visible dent in it. Other hand still a gatling gun, he aimed it forward and began firing. The alien quickly recovered from the hit, however, and dodged Omega's attack.

The behemoth machine made a groaning noise, as the alien continued to dodge each of his attacks. Suddenly, Rouge joined in the battle. Running up from behind her ally, she tossed forth a series of flash bang grenades. The contraptions did exactly was expected, as the alien was sent back in blinding pain.

_"I gathered all of your blood... it was easy for you and Rouge... but Maria's was... different..." Nega went on._

Lifting her foot, Rouge was about to strike down the alien, but the creäture stopped her. Still blinding, it lifted its arm and grabbed her attack. Rouge was caught off guard by the counterattack, and the alien lifted her up. Swinging her around over and over again, it suddenly tossed her into the wall. The Black Alien's eyesight returned after that, but its face quickly met Omega's fist. The attack sent it reeling back in pain, as Omega let out a daunting cry.

"No one hurts Rouge!"

The alien's bottom left jaw was crushed by the attack, and warm purple fluids constantly oozed from it. The alien clamped its hand on the limb in an attempt to stop the bleeding, but of course it did nothing. Omega got closer to the creäture, then grabbed a hold of its segmented tail. Twirling it about like some kind of rat, he started to slam it down into the ground over and over again. With each slam, more and more blood was dispensed over the halls. After only a minute, the area was drenched in this aliens blood, with Omega being painted in a bright purple.

Omega's claw lifted, and the creäture ceased moving. Standing tall, Omega glared down at the flattened body of the alien. His head shook at the pathetic sight of the alien he killed.

Let it be known, that no one angers Omega.

"Rouge?" he called as he arrived at her position.

"Omega..." she answered, coughing out a bit of her blood.

In a rare moment of concern, the robot lifted its claw, and wiped away the blood from her chin. She smiled at the brief moment of care, before standing up.

"C'mon, Omega," she ordered, "we have a mission to accomplish..."

"Affirmative..." he answered.

...

"It was decided early own that we would use Maria as the basis. Though I knew of you, and your love for Shadow, Doom didn't. He only knew how much he cared for the dead girl. So he made sure that Maria Rivet was the perfect little clone, with everything that Shadow wanted. But finding Maria's blood was so hard. How does one find the blood of a girl whose been dead for fifty long years? I searched, and searched, but I couldn't find it. So... I made a little compromise. I used the second best thing..."

His eyes floated to Hope, as an insidious smile came to his lips.

"M... Me?" she said, hand on her chest.

"Yes... Doom didn't know, but I used your blood, Hope. You and Maria are more alike than you think. A little tinkering here and there, and voila! Maria Rivet was born! I performed the same process used to create Shadow, but substituted Doom's blood for your own."

"So... Maria Rivet," Hope grimaced, "Is my clone?"

"Yessss, ah yessss! You should be proud! I remade you as a hedgehog! The rest was simple genetic modification. Giving her Maria's attributes was due to hours of research on her personality. After that, I got to work, and created the blonde hedgehog you know... and hate... The outcome was more powerful, and more damning, than I thought. After seeing what Shadow did around her, I realized something. It wasn't the Maria, he was attracted too, it was the _you_ in Maria Rivet, he couldn't be without. I'm not sure how but, if was as if Shadow could tell there were bits of you, inside of Maria Rivet. He became more attracted to her than originally expected."

"No, I can't believe you! You cloned me into a hedgehog, and Shadow... he fell in love with me? Not Maria?"

"It was both, a two-pronged attack, if you will. He had both you _and_ Maria in one body! It was perfect... but no... it wasn't perfect... the very thing that attracted Shadow to Maria, also repelled her. The Maria side... we were sure it would keep Shadow bound, but it didn't..." he looked to her, "You were too strong... he was in love with you too much to betray you, no matter how close he got..."

"So... Shadow never cheated on me?"

"Not willingly, no, Maria Rivet knew how to get under his skin, because _you_ know how to get under his skin! But... that's not the point... you see... Maria Rivet is insane..."

...

The Commander lied his hands on his head.

He was far away, far far away. Safely guarded in the G.U.N. Base's halls. It angered him to no end too. If it were up to him, he'd be on the frontlines, giving orders to his men personally. But as of now, he was just going to have to order from here.

"Commander!" a voice came over the radio, "One of the Egg Pods have been destroyed! What now!?"

"Prepare the Revenge Bombers..." the Commander ordered, "As soon as you've cleared the skies of those Egg Pods, tell me!"

"Yes Commander!"

The radio made a buzzing noise as it died off. Grabbing a hold of his coffee, he took a sip, and shifted his eyes to the screen before him. On it was the war being waged in the skies. Destruction and death went on for as far as the eye could see. Leaning back into his seat, the Commander just couldn't understand what made the Dr. do this. Sure, Eggman is unbalanced and insane, but this was just horrible. He would never get into a scuffle of this measure with G.U.N., not without retreating into one of his heavily guarded bases first.

So, what the hell?

An explosion occurred on the screen. The radio came on.

"Egg Pod two, down!"

"Get those missiles ready!"

Suddenly, the screen glitched. Instead of showing the battle, for a split second, it showed Eggman's insignia. And then, it returned to normal. The Commander wasn't sure what to make of what he just witnessed. So... he leaned back, eyes widened.

...

"The project was both a resounded success, and a tremendous failure..." Nega said, shaking his head, "Maria Rivet came out exactly as we wanted, a girl with Maria's features, who would take over Shadow's mind... but we never took into account her mind. Cloning is such an awkward process, and more often than not, cloning can only result insanity."

Hope choked a bit, her mind being filled with thoughts of Android Shadow. He's a clone of Shadow, and there's no denying the fact that he's a nutcase.

"Maria was no different..." Nega continued, "Thanks to your blood, she had an insatiable love for Shadow. She would kill, steal, hell, even rape someone for him... yeah, she was _that_ insane." he turned away, "I've often wondered why she ended up like that, but I had no time to go back and investigate it. Doom wanted Maria sent out now..." finally he turned back and faced Hope, a sigh accompanying his attention, "And don't even get me started on you... Maria Rivet hated you, with a passion. The brief mention of your name sent her rage boiling. Had it not been for the fact that this was a stealth mission, she would have killed you the very morning she popped up, but I made sure that didn't happen." he sighed again, "Maria found you to be competition... as if the only thing stopping her from truly being with Shadow, was you."

"So..." Hope murmured, her voice sounded soulless, "It was you... who released that sick being on me and Shadow?"

He nodded.

"Yes, I'm afraid."

Suddenly she was upon him. Her wrench was in hand, held up high, and those dull blue eyes were filled with so much hate and rage.

"WHY!?" she yelled, rage seethed in her words.

"All for the mission," he stated calmly, "I really must apologize Hope... I should have known Maria would try to ruin your relationship in such a way. Her way was so deranged, it was... creepy..."

"And yet you still went along with it!"

"Of course I did! I wasn't going to wipe clean days of planning just because of one deranged clone. That would be foolish!"

"You're just like Robotnik... so, damn, evil..."

"Me? Evil? No... that's too... _simple_ a term to describe me..." his evil grin grew, "More like... sadistic..."

"So, what now? Will you give up willingly?"

"You already know the answer to that question..."

"Then... where is Shadow? What have you done to him?"

"Me? Nothing... he's just been in _her_ arms all day."

She twitched. And yet, she kept her cool.

"What has she done to him?" she questioned.

"Ah, so you _have_ noticed his red eyes."

"Of course I did... what did you do to Shadow?"

"We analyzed and remade Shadow's inhibitor rings. Now, thanks to the Chaos Force, we control him. It was Doom's idea from the get go. Have Maria lead Shadow to a trap, and then forced those things on his wrist. Maria's idea of a trap though, was to get him exhausted through sex, and _then_ slip those things on. Like I said, she is insane..."

"So what now?"

"Well, you can continue to talk to me, or..." his smile grew, "You can run off to that hedgehog you love, and pry him from Maria's hands."

Hope pulled back.

"Its your choice, my dear..."

Hope knew what she had to do. What she had to do, was call Rouge and Omega into this room, and have them restrain Eggman Nega. But that's not what she _wanted _to do. What she wanted to do, is run off to find Shadow, and kill Maria Rivet.

Today... common sense _lost_.

"She's in the holding room," he said, "No doubt stroking the furs of Shadow as we speak. I recommend you go after her... or else..."

Hope stepped back. Not taking her eyes off of Nega, she unconsciously made her way for the room's exit. Her hand found the panel controlling the door, and she tapped a series of buttons on it. The door slid open, the noise of gunfire littlered the air outside, and she slipped out the room. With the door sliding close, Eggman Nega let out a much-needed laugh. Turning his face to a screen that had been behind him all day, he read the words, 'Hacking Complete'. He couldn't help but to laugh even harder.

"Time to make my escape..."


	15. To Kill a Rivet

To Kill a Rivet

The door slid close. Clamping her hand on her chest, the young mechanic breathed in and out violently. The explosions continued to occur, and the noises they made filled the airways.

She was ignoring orders. She knew that. She knew what would be the price of failure if anyone found out.

_If_ anyone found out.

She shook her head, to clear her mind of those thoughts. Now was not the time to dwell on such things. Destroy the Egg Saucer, that was the primary mission here. Not kidnapping Dr. Robotnik. Besides, G.U.N. would understand if he escaped again, he has the tendency to do so, ya'know.

"Hope!" Tails cried, running up to her position, "Did you find the what you were looking for?"

She nodded weakly.

"We must hurry," she stated, "Shadow's being kept in the holding room."

"Where is it then?"

She flipped out her PDA-like device and scanned the map quickly. It was strange because... there it was, the holding room, lighting up in a red color. No other area on her map did that, _but_ that one room. Surely, this was Nega's doing. Still...

"Let's go..." she said, arm waving in a following motion.

...

Metal Sonic 3.0's hand clamped on the side of the wall. Pulling himself forth, he exited the area he was thrown into, and snapped his red eyes on Sonic's hide. The blue blur lifted his fists in a fighting motion, while Gemerl took a pose of his own. The heroes locked their eyesight on their gold and black foe, as the tension in the room grew greater. For a while, the only noise was Metal Sonic 3.0's feet clashing against the cold floor.

"Okay..." Sonic murmured, walking forth to meet his doppelgänger, "This is gonna be interesting..."

He threw a punch. It was a lazy one, and not to well thought out, but it was fast. Metal Sonic 3.0 dodged the attack, however, grabbed it, and then countered with three kicks to the chest. The final kick threw Sonic back a few good feet. As the blue blur groaned in pain, Gemerl knew it was his turn. He faced Metal Sonic 3.0, but instead of fighting, he used that information he learned from Omega's videos. Closing his fist up, he distorted a bit of time and space within it, forcing it into a compact state. After feeling it was strong enough, he tossed this ball of distorted space out, and sent it roaming about. It took form quickly, as a pulsating, see through orb like object. It vibrated wildly, and constantly made its way toward the gold and black doppelgänger. Metal Sonic 3.0 dodged the attack, but it was a simple ruse, as Gemerl countered with a round house kick to the face. The strike was so powerful, it dazed Metal Sonic 3.0's sensories a bit. Once they reconfigured themselves, his body met that Roaming Chaos Gemerl tossed out from before. The pulsating blast struck his body, and exploded, sending him skyward, as if gravity had magically been shifted. He collided with the ceiling, and immediately fell back down with a thud.

"Are you finished yet?" Gemerl taunted, those blue eyes of his shining.

Metal Sonic 3.0 made no response, and merely stood up. Gemerl's fist tightened at the sight, as he once again prepared for battle.

"Sonic!" he called out, "I'll handle Metal Sonic! You go for the Master Emerald!"

"Hey!" the blue blur replied as he got to his feet, "This is my clone! My fight!"

That little retort caused Gemerl to grumble.

"This is not negotiable!" he said at a pitch and tone reminiscent of a certain black and red hedgehog.

His engines ignited, and he rocketed forth at high speeds. He slammed into Metal Sonic 3.0 with a tackle, and drove him clear through a wall. The duo flew outside to the skies around them, and caused a hole so great in the wall, it caused air to rapidly evacuate. Even though he wanted to fight, Sonic knew he couldn't fly and compete with his gold and black counterpart.

Not this time, at least.

So his feet kicked up, and drove him free from the air's strong pull. He eventually got to a hall free of the rapid suction, and took the time out to breathe. His deep breaths were interrupted by a frenzied scream. Jade eyes moved up, just in time to see Egg Pawns and Egg Gunners being thrown into the wall. A sharp claw attached its way on the side of the wall a second later, and pulled the rest of its body forth. Sonic could feel his heart drop at the sight of the creäture before him.

The Black Alien screamed, and its red eyes shot holes into his body.

And this time... there was no Omega to help out with things.

But Sonic wouldn't be deterred, nor would he be fearful. He lifted his fists, shot a glare of equal intimidation at his foe, and beckoned him forward.

"I'm all yours buddy!"

...

"What is this place?"

Rouge's words fell on death ears, as not even Omega was sure.

Metal Pods... they lied everywhere.

_Everywhere_...

And all of them... every single last one of them... were filled with beings. Some were extremely incomplete, while others were so finished, so... perfect.

Clones... they were clones...

Living, breathing, clones!

And they all came in such various shapes and sizes, different bodies, different types. Humans, mobians, hedgehogs, _bats_. And yet, they still had attributes that tied them all together. All were girls, all had lengthy blonde hair, all had these blue eyes.

"They are asleep..." Omega stated.

"So... these things are actually alive?" Rouge responded, her voice raised so high.

"Affirmative..." Omega solemnly replied.

The bat couldn't believe this. What kind of sick minded individual would have a collection of blonde little girls in his or her base? Yes, Eggman is insane, there's no disputing that, but this was at so high, so great levels! Not even he would do this... right?

"Cloning..." Omega murmured, "They are all clones..."

"Destroy them, Omega!" Rouge ordered, her voice sounding so angered and so urgent, "Kill them all! Don't leave one alive!"

"Affirmative..." he responded.

His hands receded into his arms, were quickly replaced with various area destroying weapons. Rouge stepped back, as her eyes followed everything. Maybe this wasn't apart of procedure. Maybe they should actually try to confiscate all of these clones. But, no, hell no! There was no way in hell she were letting these monstrosities live! No matter how flawless some looked, or how demented others were. They were all going to die!

Omega started firing. His bullets and missiles destroyed and set aflame everything they touched. The noise of cracking capsule glass, and the spilling of the fluids within filled the air. There were even some cries of pain from it all. Rouge kept her ears down though, she couldn't bear to hear the sounds. Those teal eyes she owned gaze forward, however. And in one of those capsules, lied one of her own clones.

She was a bat, just like her, had blonde hair, but had these grey highlights in them. A curvy and voluptuous figure, and wings that were so magnificent. The thing tying it all together, however, was this clones eyes. They were teal.

Omega's rocket destroyed it.

...

The blades clashed painfully into his skin.

Sonic stepped back, as he dabbed his hands down on the wound. Pulling it back, he found his white glove was dyed in a burning red. He waved off the pain though, and once again lifted his fists.

The Black Alien before him struck again, its claws coming dangerously toward his head. Sonic ducked down from the strike, and quickly shuffled behind the alien foe. Throwing forth a powerful kick, he struck the alien in the spine, and caused it to scream. It countered quickly with its bladed tail, and the strike found its mark in Sonic's leg. The blue blur griped in pain, but as he was working on adrenaline, he quickly dodged a bladed strike aimed for his head. The Black Alien's hand dove directly into the ground, and he pulled on it over and over again. Sonic retreated back a few feet, while his hand clamped onto the area where he was stabbed. Once again pulled back his glove, he found his blood splattered across it.

The Black Alien removed its hand from the ground. Facing Sonic, it once again let out a cry of monstrous proportions. Sonic stood tall watching this, as his mind went over a plan. So, he started spinning. But this spin dash was different from his usual fair. As the Black Alien got closer, Sonic suddenly pushed forth an intensive amount of force, generating a shock wave. The blue blast traveled forward, and slammed into the Black Alien, tossing him back a good ways away, before ultimately colliding into a wall.

Sonic landed on his feet, but immediately fell under the pressure of standing on an injured limb. To his ire, the Black Alien had already recovered from the attack, and was now heading his way. So, from his invisible pockets, Sonic produced a homing ring. As the Black Alien got closer and closer, he pinpointed its position. And then, tossing forth said ring, it crashed into the Black Alien. The ring did nothing, it was the homing attack following that held all the pain. Sonic zipped forth in a spin dash so fast, the Black Alien had no way of dodging it. He rushed into the Black Aliens skull, and a loud cracking noise echoed in the halls.

Sonic collapsed onto the ground behind his foe, as the alien fell to the ground. It made no noise, and a warm pool of purple blood started to surround its head. Sonic turned back, and faced the dying monster.

Killing... it was something he didn't enjoy doing... Still... he had a job to do...

Despite the pain, he dashed off, as the alien died behind him.

...

The halls were dark, cold, and daunting. No lights shined in this area, as they constantly got closer and closer to one central area.

It was hexagonal shaped, with glass instead of walls, and only one door. The lights in that room were on, of course.

"Damn those earthlings! How dare they attack Daddy's ship!"

Maria Rivet. She stood, blue eyes replaced with flaming red snakes, as her neck was constantly peppered with kisses. She faced the black and red hedgehog doing this, and paid her glare with one of his own. He showed no emotion in all that he did, even now. Those shining red eyes of his were the only thing showing he was alive still.

But Maria didn't care.

"They can try," she murmured, "and they will fail..."

Shadow's hand found her frontal zipper, and started to pull it down. Feeling the touch of her leather being moved down, she let out a held in moan. The zipper got closer and closer down, and started to reveal more of her naked body. She swooned from the touch, and fell into Shadow's arms, who held her up. Gazing up, she peered deeply into Shadow's red eyes. It may have held absolutely no emotion, but to Maria, it was a gaze of absolute lust. She kissed him slowly.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Her ears twitched. Looking up, she first took note of Shadow's red eyes. Next was the burning yellow lights. And finally, the windows for walls. She peered over the amazing amounts of science equipment, before coming to sight with the frame of a girl.

"YOU!" Maria Rivet roared, her voice raising to demonic levels.

Hope's hands laid on the glass, as her eyes held nothing but rage. Just glaring forward, toward this woman being cradled in Shadow's arms, _her_ Shadow's arms. It put her rage to a boiling point.

"Let go of Shadow!" she demanded through the glass.

"YOU!" Maria Rivet repeated, however.

And Shadow, well, Shadow just sat there. His face showing no emotion, as his mind sent no thoughts through his body. Maria shuffled out of his grasp, stood tall, and glared directly at Hope. Her rage filled lips suddenly broke into a crooked smile, as she started to step toward the glass.

"Oh," she said, her voice keeping that sadism, but lowering in volume, "I've been waiting for this."

Approaching the glass, Maria laid her hand upon the same area as Hope. As the two stood apart from each other, separated only by a thin veil of glass, Hope took the time to analyze her... _clone_. She could see the resemblance of each other. The flaming snakes had been replaced by blue eyes. Just gazing into them, Maria could see her own reflection.

Yes... she most surely was her..._ clone_...

"I knew you'd be here sooner or later," Maria taunted, "I knew you'd be here to take Shadow away from me."

"He doesn't belong to you..." Hope retorted, eyes squinting, "He belongs to me."

"Awww, look at you! 'Shadow belongs to me.' You say that as if you you're some kind of woman, and," she looked her up and down, taking note of Hope's change of clothing, "And with those... I assume you _think_ you're a woman."

"And what does that make you!" Hope barked back, "You're my clone! So that makes you some kind of child!"

"Me? A clone?"

Maria laughed. She laughed, and laughed, and laughed some more, as if Hope's words were the funniest joke ever told.

"Me!" she said, still chuckling, "A clone! That's rich!"

"What? Can't you see it?"

"Oh, such a naïve _child!_"

"That's what I can say about you..."

"Oh really?" she started to sway back and forth with a cocky swagger, "Why don't you come in here and say it to my face?"

She started laughing again, but this time her voice was so banshee like. It shook the very fabric of the glass, showing just how light it was. Hope started grinning.

"Tails, you have something to deal with this, don'cha?"

The yellow fox walked up, his hand shuffling through his pockets. Finding the exact tool needed for this situation, he started smiling. A small, disk-like object laid in his hand. Tossing it up and down, he laid it on the glass, where it suction cupped itself to the window. Tapping a few buttons on the disk, Tails caused it to emit a high-frequency noise.

"You might wanna get back, and cover your ears..." the fox order.

Doing as she was told, Hope juked back and covered her ears. The high-pitch noise got louder and louder, eventually overruling Maria's laughter. The glass started to shake because of it. And then, it started cracking. Every piece of glass in the room started to shake and crack, before eventually, they all shattered.

Small, prickling pieces of glass fell from the walls, and would have surely cut all those in came in contact with. Maria's laughter died out immediately, and her blue eyes glared about to the fallen pieces of glass.

"Huh... wasn't expectin' that..." she murmured.

Crunch!

Crunch!

Crunch!

Maria glanced up, and before her, was Hope. She looked so angry, and so hurt. But those eyes were offset by a sense of hidden pleasure.

Oh yesssssss, this was going to be very pleasurable.

"I hope your ready," Hope said, her eyesight growing stronger, "Because I have been waiting for this."

From her pockets, she slipped out a wrench. No... no gun... that would be too easy. What Hope wanted to do, was feel Maria's pain under her finger tips.

Love makes people do crazy things...

She lunged forward quickly. Gasping at the sight, Maria was given no time to dodge it. Together, the two crashed right beside a motionless Shadow. They slammed into some medical equipment, causing blades and knives to fall upon the two. The silver objects slashed and scratched against their skin, causing drops of blood to fly. But Hope didn't care. Working off of adrenaline, she slammed her wrench against Maria's neck, and continuously applied pressure. The blonde hedgehog let out a scream of pain, as she choked over and over again. Hand reaching about, Maria found a fallen knife. Grabbing it by the handle, she slashed forth. Her knife sliced against Hope's arm, tearing through her fabric, and leaving a noticeable wound on her elbow.

The mechanic fell back immediately, before shuffling to her feet. Grabbing onto her arm, she tried to stop the bleeding, but it was fruitless. Pulling back her hand, she saw just how injured she was. Her hand was drenched in blood.

"If I am your clone," Maria started to taunt, "does that make you... _Mommy?_"

Hope choked at that statement. Being powered by some hidden energy, she struck forth with her blunt wrench. Maria dodged it by ducking, and countered with a kick to the chest. Though the attack sent her back, it didn't deter her from coming back. Hope tackled Maria, and the two began their tussle anew.

Tails watched this battle with a hand on his mouth. Sure, he had seen battles that rocked the world before, battles that decided the fate of universes, battles that saved the very fabric of time itself. But this. This simple fight between two girls, with blood, sweat, and anger.

Well, it was mesmerizing.

But he had a job to do. Running up to Shadow, he quickly analyzed the hedgehog's face. He didn't look happy or mad. Oddly, content. His face was just so plain and straight-faced. Free of any strain or emotion. Just... blank...

"Oh my, Shadow..." Tails murmured, "What have they done to you..."

"THOSE RINGS!" Hope cried as she held onto Maria's wrists, "GET THOSE DAMN RINGS OFF OF HIM!"

"LET MY SHADOW GO!" Maria retorted.

Bucking up her feet, she kicked Hope toward a metal table. The girl cracked against it, but working off of anger, she immediately leaped back into the fray. Tails' blue eyes aimed toward the Shadow's wrists. The inhibitor rings which are usually just gold, now had these spiraling red marks on them, reminiscent of the Black Arms. In fact, it was the Black Arms symbol. It had been so long, Tails almost forgot about it. Regardless...

His hand fell upon the ring, and he pulled. Still, the golden bands wouldn't budge. Tails pulled some more, but they just stayed attached. Not loosing faith, he continued to pull, and eventually started straining himself.

Hope went flying, and she fell near the two mobians. A low moaning chuckle came from away, and Maria stepped forth.

"You can't pull those things off," she stated, "Only I can!"

Hope stood up to match her stature.

"We'll find a way to get those off." she stated, "Just you wait and see."

"Oh, really?"

Maria's face bent into unhappiness. Hand faltering, she loosened her grip on the knife in her hand, and allowed it to fall to the ground. The haggard gasps for breath that exited both girls mouthes never left, but Maria's started to regulate itself.

"I've had enough of this little game..." she stated, "And I've hurt myself far to much playing with you!" she shifted her gaze down, "Shadow... dispose of them..."

He cocked his head up.

Tails, whose hands were still on his wrists, let go immediately, as the black and red hedgehog stood tall. He glared at the young fox boy, let out a grunt, then grabbed him. Tails tried to scream, but his voice was cut short by Shadow's hand around his neck. He lifted him higher, and higher, while his grip grew in strength. Tails' eyes rolled to the back of his skull, as consciousness started to flee him.

"NO!" Hope yelled running up, "TAILS!"

As soon as she got close to him and Shadow, the black and red hedgehog lifted his hand. He turned around slowly, and with those red eyes, he glared at Hope. She locked up in place as her gaze met his.

He struck her.

Shadow's back hand struck the side of Hope's cheek. The blow was strong too, as it sent her flying into science equipment. Her head banged against some cases, and her head went into a daze.

She saw nothing but sparks, and her vision was rendered blurring. In her ears, however, she heard the great chortles of a certain blonde hedgehog.

"Yes Shadow!" Maria yelled, pleasure in her voice, "Kill them! Kill them all!"

His grip tightened around Tails' little neck, causing the fox to see his life flash before his eyes. Blue eyes rolled back, and mouth opened up. He wasn't dead, but death was coming if this continued.

"I... can't... believe you..." a weak voice called out.

Hope's hand found the top of the science equipment, helping herself up. The injury on her cheek was still there, and it throbbed with pain. Touching it, she winced, before returning her gaze to Shadow. He still had his back to her, as his focus was on killing Tails.

Hope started... crying...

"I can't believe you!" she roared out, ceasing Maria's laughs, "Everything is your fault! EVERYTHING! Why can't I just have a normal life!? Why do I have to love you, Shadow the hedgehog!? Why must every waking moment of your life be filled with turmoil and unhappiness for both you and your friends!? Why!? ANSWER ME!"

He twitched.

"I... don't... know..." he answered.

Hope's ranting stopped. Maria locked up, and her eyes grew wide.

"What... did you just say?" Maria murmured.

"Shadow?"

Tails coughed out.

"AH! Shadow, let go!"

He did. Listening to Hope's command, his grip left Tails' neck, and the kitsune fell to the floor. Almost instantly, he curled into a ball.

"NO! WHAT!?" Maria yelled, "Shadow! You kill him this instant!"

He raised his hand.

"NO! DON'T!" Hope ordered.

His hand fell.

Maria nor Hope couldn't believe it. He was listening to both of them.

"How is this possible!?" Maria yelled, fists tightening, "You're only supposed to listen to me!"

A sly, cocky grin, came to Hope's lips.

"I told you... _clone_..."

Maria twitched at the call.

"NO! NO! NO! That's impossible! I am not your clone!" she pointed forth her finger, "Kill her Shadow!"

He turned around and faced Hope.

"No! Kill her Shadow!" Hope yelled back.

He spun around, and faced Maria.

"Don't you dare!" she threatened, causing him to stop dead in his tracks.

Well, this was awkward. Here they stood, in the middle of a frenzied battle, the one they loved willing to do anything they asked for. So... what now?

"You fucking whore!" Maria yelled, "You're messing with his mind! Stop that!"

"I'm the whore!?" Hope retorted, hand on chest, mind formulating a plan, "I'm not the one who tried to steal someone elses man!"

"He's mine, and mine alone! I deserve him! I was made for him!"

"You're just trying to take him away from me, admit it!"

"I'm not trying to take Shadow away! I'm just everything he ever wanted!"

Hope started chuckling.

"Everything he ever wanted? In his right mind, Shadow would never choose you!"

"How dare you!"

"Admit it! You just stole him from me because your... _jealous..._"

"Jealous! Of you!? Why would I be jealous of some earthling girl who just happened to get lucky! Even if I didn't lip those rings on his wrists, Shadow would have chosen me and left you in the long run!"

"Wanna prove it!?"

"Prove!? I can!?"

Maria turned away, and faced Shadow, who just stood there. Giving a grin filled with power and hate, she said,

"Tak'em off Shadow!"

His head snapped to her. Hand moving down, he grabbed ahold of one of his rings. Snap! His other hand came to his other wrist. Snap!

Both rings shined a brilliant glow, and eventually fell to his feet.

Silence...

"Ugh..." he murmured, hand on head, eyes closed shut, "It feels like I've been rammed by a bullet train..."

Finally, his eyes opened, and the first thing he noticed, was Tails curled up at his feet. Ruby eyes opened wide at the sight, before dancing about the room. Everything was messy, with equipment and such on the ground, mixed in with glass. And outside, all he heard was explosions, like a war zone was going on outside. He really had no idea what was going on.

"What the hell?"

"Shadow..." she heard a whisper, "Shadow come here..."

He looked up. It was Maria. She had the most crooked, broken smile on her lips, and her eyes were flaming red.

"Come here Shadow," she beckoned with a waving finger, "Come to Maria!"

Rage... Rage filled him.

His fingers started to cackle, and his eye sight locked onto Maria. Fingers charging with electricity, he caused Maria to lock up.

"You!" he said, growing red, "YOU!"

"Uh oh..."

"CHAOS JAVELIN!"

His hand thrusted forward, and a red flaming beam of energy flew out. Maria lifted her arm to brace for impact, but there was nothing she could do. The explosion shook the room, and Maria was tossed into the wall. Her body caused a dent in the wall, and the force knocked her clean out. But Shadow wasn't finished. In his hands, he formed a red burning spear, born of Chaos Energy. Those shining ruby eyes locked onto Maria, and he got closer and closer.

"You! What you did to me! It was! WAS! Unforgivable! I'll! I'll!"

The noise of crushed glass got his attention.

He turned away from Maria, and his eyes met the frame of Hope. Nothing mattered at that point in time. Not the battle, not Maria, not even Tails at his feet.

Hope's breathes were quick, and strained, and her body showed injuries of a battle. Shadow's weapon fizzled away. Hope stepped forward. He grabbed her. Still silent, he touched the wounds on her body, causing her to wince and gasp in pain. He wanted to say something. He really did but.

Hope's lips just felt so damn good to him.


	16. The Fall of the Egg Saucer

Fall of the Egg Saucer

They kissed for what felt like an eternity. Shadow said nothing, Hope said nothing, as the only noise that moved between them, were the noise of lips on lips, and Hope's soft moans. Nothing seemed to matter at that point in time. Not the war zone outside, the blonde hedgehog on the ground, nor the two tailed fox.

All that mattered, was that they had each other.

"Hope..." he murmured, breaking the kiss they were sharing, "What happened? Where am I?"

And yet, instead of answering him, she dove her face into his chest, giving him a hug of bear like proportion. He said nothing, rather he placed his hand on her head, and lovingly ruffled the blonde blades of her hair.

"Hope, I'm sorry..." he whispered, "This is all my fault... I should've never gotten involved with Maria in the first-"

His lips met Hope's fingers, quickly silencing him in the act.

"Just... shut up, Shadow..." she ordered, "Just... shut up..."

She wasn't in the mood for long, heartfelt words. No, she just wanted to sit in his arms, and be silent for a while. Such a luxury was taken from her ever since this whole business started. And, ya'know, it was a luxury she didn't know she wanted back until right now.

"Ugh..." Tails' voice cracked, "I... I blacked out there for a moment... what's going on?"

...

They zipped out around the skies. Black and gold bodies streaked up and down at speeds much to great to quantify. They moved left, they moved right, they darted up, they darted down, they were just images, apparitions of themselves. But the battle they waged for invisible eyes was the greatest ever told.

Gemerl stopped first. The battle was causing his severs to scream with a burning pain. he was working so fast, his internal cooling unit couldn't keep up with all the action. Still he fought, ignoring the damage that was probably being caused to his mind.

He could just have Tails fix him later, ya'know.

It didn't take long for his opponent to reappear. Before him, in a flash of light, was Metal Sonic 3.0. It raised its fist, and struck forward with a punch so hard, it cracked Gemerl's eye. Never one to give up, however, Gemerl countered with a kick of his own. The strike sent Metal Sonic 3.0 flying back, and gave Gemerl ample time to follow-up on his strike. And yet, for some reason, he didn't. He remained flying, looking at his gold and black foe, as it regained its composure.

"Stop fighting me, Metal Sonic!" he called out, "This is foolish! In a way, we are brothers, created by the same madman!"

With that cold face, it was pretty hard to tell if Metal Sonic 3.0 was listening or not. But, Gemerl continued.

"We don't have to fight! You can come with me! Tails will rebuild you, and make you better! You don't have to kill!"

Metal Sonic 3.0's face bent up, as if he were listening.

"Please," Gemerl continued, "Stop fighting me!"

His words fell on death ears.

Metal Sonic 3.0 dashed forward, and locked its arms around Gemerl's waist. The two collided into a G.U.N. walker that was flying near by. The force of Metal Sonic's strike destroyed the walker in one foul swoop, sending it careening into the oceans below. Realizing that his negotiations was a failure, Gemerl regained his fighting vigor, and held up Metal Sonic 3.0. Pulling back his head, he struck with a headbutt, which severely damaged one of Metal Sonic 3.0's eyes. The gold and black doppelgänger fell back, hand on head, as it tried to parse together loose thoughts. By the time that was finished, it met Gemerl's powerful punch. Flying back, it quickly regained flight, and shifted its gaze back to its foe.

"Metal Sonic!" Nega's voice suddenly yelled in his mind, "Return to base! The mission is complete! Time for a retreat!"

Without the ability to speak, the gold and black sonic robot nodded. As Gemerl dashed forward, it merely disappeared via Chaos Control.

Gemerl hovered there for a few seconds, his mind wondering what just happened, as his foe vanished. Shaking his head, he knew he had to a mission to finish, so now was not the time to dwell on foes gone. Thrusters ignited, he dashed off to meet the Egg Saucer.

...

The door slid open.

Jade eyes moving up and down, the blue blur gave a much-needed grin. Here it was, right before him, the Master Emerald. It was in some giant metal machine, with many cords and such sticking from it. Feeding power to all of the Egg Saucer, Sonic knew that if that thing was removed, this whole place would fall.

So, he got ready to remove it.

Ducking down, he immediately began spin dashing. He got faster, faster, and faster, as his mind pinpointed onto its target. After a few more seconds of this, he dashed off. Blue streaks danced all along the machine and the cords, severing them with his sharpened quills. Being separated from its power source, the entire room began to quiver and break, as if it was made of straw. Sonic landed after his job was done, and grabbed a hold of the heavy Master Emerald.

The halls of the entire Saucer started to scream. Red lights danced everywhere, as alarms blared louder and louder. Realizing that it was time to go, Sonic grabbed a hold of the Master Emerald, and dashed out of the room.

...

The door opened up.

Fearful of who the intruder may be, Shadow, Hope, and Tails tensed up. Through the darkened halls, they heard these beings get closer and closer, before revealing themselves in the light.

"Rouge! Omega!" Hope called out first.

As the robot scanned the area, Rouge waved with her usual sultry glare.

"Hey there, Hope sweetie," she said, "and it looks like you've found handsome."

Shadow shook his head at Rouge's usual flirts, but was caught off guard by a sudden hug coming from her.

"I missed you, Mr. Unsmiley..."

"Not... now..." he grumbled, his voice weaker than usual.

"Shadow... you sound miserable, whats wrong?"

"Inhibitor rings," he croaked, "I feel weak without them..."

"Where are they?"

"Maria... she did something to them... I can barely stand..."

He hunched over almost immediately, as he started to breathe in and out quickly.

"Speaking of Maria..." Hope murmured, rage in her voice.

Turning to face the hedgehog responsible for all of this, she glared out of the science equiped room, and toward the wall Shadow had thrown her into. But... she wasn't there... And to make matters worse, nor were the mind control rings she placed on Shadow. How the hell did she do that without anyone noticing?

"Uh... you guys..." Hope called out, "I think we need to get out of here..."

Suddenly, alarms started blaring. If that was bad enough, everyone could feel the Egg Saucer start to tip over.

"EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY!" Omega yelled, "Egg Saucer is preparing for a crash landing! Escape is advised!"

"Perfect..." Shadow murmured weakly.

Trying to get to his feet, he suddenly fell back down, to weak to even stand. Rouge shuffled her arms under his and held him up. Had this been any other day, he would have violently nudged her off, but he was just way to weak to put up even a token resistance. Omega took head point, with Tails behind him, while Hope and Rouge helped Shadow escape.

"We need to back to the Black Hawk!" Hope stated.

"I hope you have a way of getting back then." Rouge responded.

"What about Sonic and Gemerl!?" Tails questioned.

"Great, Sonic's here?" Shadow inquired.

"Not now!" Rouge scolded, "Omega send a message out to Gemerl and Sonic to return to the Black Hawk!"

"Affirmative! Message formed and sent! Crash down impending!"

"What time do you have?"

"Fifteen minutes until Egg Saucer crash down!"

"And the position!?" Hope questioned.

"Egg Saucer will crash into northern Adabat!"

"Can we stop talking and get out of here then!?" Shadow roared.

Silenced by his words, the group started to pick up the pace. Omega destroyed the exit door, yet kept his guns trained on any thing that may or may not come his way. Finding the close clear, he stepped forward a bit.

His scanners picked up screaming.

At the end of the hall, one of those neo Black Aliens appeared. Its tail swung to and fro in a deadly fashion, while its red eyes gleamed holes into its foe. Mouth splitting open, it roared to the sky with all of its might, causing the very foundation of the room to shake. As Omega thrusted forth his gun arm, the Black Alien prepared to pounce. It dashed forward at amazing speeds, tearing the halls up with its claws as it did so, and screamed out with all of its might. But then, out of nowhere, a red bolt of energy streaked passed Omega, and collided with the Black Alien. As soon as that bolt touched the Black Alien, it evaporated it, leaving nothing but dust and decay.

Omega turned around. He saw Shadow. Using the last ounce of his energy, he tossed forward a Chaos Javelin that destroyed his foe.

"We don't have time for this foolishness..." he stated, greatly annoyed, "Now lets hurry up!"

...

The door slid open.

"You finally showed up!" Sonic stated, sitting in one of the Black Hawk's seats.

"We must hurry," Gemerl said, pressing on the urgency, "The Egg Saucer shall fall soon!"

"We know, we know!" Hope yelled back, jumping into the command seat, "Now just calm down while I get this thing flying!"

She tapped away at buttons, quickly springing the vehicle to life but... she felt oddly cold. Her blue eyes moved up and down, scanning everything as if she were being watched. It was odd because, she felt like only she was feeling this emotions.

"You guys..." she called out, fingers falling, "Do you feel that?"

Everyone looked to her.

"Feel what?" Sonic asked.

The Black Hawk shook. No, not because Hope was moving it, but because it was being lifted. Loud, childish giggles echoed all about, coming from a very familiar voice.

"You can't escape me, Shadow!" Maria yelled from outside, "I'll just keep finding you!"

"Boy..." Sonic whispered, "She sounds like Amy..."

"Not now..." Shadow barked.

The Black Hawk got higher, and higher though, as some invisible force pulled it through the hole it created in the hall. Before anyone knew it, they were once again falling through the hangar of the Egg Pods. Hope tapped away at the command console, trying her hardest to get it flying, but the force pulling the ship was just too strong. It shook, and shook, and never let go.

"Do something!" Rouge yelled.

"I'm trying!" Hope yelled back.

Suddenly, the pulling stopped. It was then replaced by tearing metal.

A great, demonic claw tore into the hull of the ship, Maria's sadistic laughs calling out. Unsure of what to do, everyone just looked at the hand as it flailed about wildly.

"SHADOW!" Maria screamed.

The hand jutted forward, and grabbed a hold of the black and red hedgehog's waist. He tried to fight it off but he was just to weak to put up a good resistance. Omega tried to slam his claw on the hand in order to free him, but the strike did nothing. Instead, the hand feeling an intruder, slapped him out-of-the-way like he was a fly. With Omega currently out of commission, the hand started to pull on Shadow once again, eventually getting him to the crack in the wall.

"I've got you now, Shadow!" Maria screamed.

"No you don't!"

It happened so suddenly, it did. Hope detached herself from her seat, leaped over her friends and, slammed into Shadow, and in doing so, she wedged herself into the hands grip, freeing Shadow in the process. It happened so quick, before anyone knew it, they were in a falling ship without a captain.

Hope's eyes closed almost immediately. She remember falling before, and it wasn't an experience she wanted to have again. So, through the air, she felt herself being tugged. Her grip never faltered in the least bit, as she held on with all her life. Since her eyes were closed, she couldn't see, but she could hear. And all she heard, was this loud, flapping noise. The being carrying her and shadow spun about and about, eventually bringing them past silver halls and back into the skies. The rushing wind was so terrible sounding, causing Hope to cry out in such fear.

It ended so quickly too. One second, Hope felt herself flying, the next, she was thrown painfully onto a cold metal floor. The wind was still rushing, but now she could feel herself standing.

And stand she did.

Her blue eyes opened, and revealed to her a daunting sight. Wind was rushing around her, as well as smoke, and debris. They were on top of the Egg Saucer, as it fell closer and closer to the earth.

"You just had to but in, didn't you!?" Maria's voice roared, even over the rushing wind.

Hope looked up. There she was, in all her insane glory. Well, no, she wasn't all there. Gone were those blue eyes, and here were these burning snakes. Her body had changed too. As though she retained that petite hedgehog figure, her right hand had been replaced by this long, scaly, red arm. Long, violent, red and black wings stretched from her back side, and wavered in the wind. It was as if, she had fused with a Black Arm herself. But, no, she _was_ a Black Arm.

"So," Hope said, standing up, "you show your true form."

"Its ugly, I know," Maria stated, "but I'll accept it if it means I get to kill you!"

"You've lost, can't you see!? The Egg Saucer has fallen, and Shadow's back with us! Give it up!"

"You may have released Shadow from my grip, but I'll get him still! Just you wait!" she gained a grin, "But first! I might as well get rid of... you..."

Her arm raised, and sharpened claws jutted out from the hands at the tip. Hope gulped at the sight of it. It was adrenaline that powered her when she freed Shadow, now, it was fear.

Maria struck down with her claws. Hope leaped back, and the claws embedded themselves in the Egg Saucer's hull. Giving a groan, Maria removed her claws from the ship, and instead started flapping her wings. She swiped many times at Hope in an attempt to kill her, but the girl kept dodging it. She moved left, she moved right, and all her movements were in sync with Maria's, allowing her to dodge. The hedgehog/alien hybrid was getting annoyed by Hope's antics, and this made her only want to kill the mechanic more. Flapping her wings, she suddenly took off for the blonde teen before her. Her arms thrusted forward, and she tackled Hope to the ground. The two skidded quite a few yards, before stopping. Hope felt pain roar up her spine, but that was nothing compared to the pain she was going to feel. Maria lifted her claw, demented visage on her face, as she prepared to kill her self-made foe. Hope shuffled through her person for any thing to help, when she found her pistol still strapped to her side. Quickly withdrawing said gun, she aimed it toward Maria and fired.

Maria shook, as she felt the cold hard bullet move through her. She stood up, hand moving to the wound, and touched it. A searing burn moved through her from the touch. A rushing feeling then moved through her, and she spat out, Her blood fell from the spit.

"You... BITCH!" Maria screamed, "HOW DARE YOU SHOOT ME!"

Hope was awestruck. This woman before her had a bullet hole inside of her and yet, she was still willing to fight. Maria raised her claw hand one more time, and dragged it down on Hope's position. The mechanic dodged it quickly, hut a strong gust of wind blew her off course. She felt herself being lifted, and tugged elsewhere. She slid fast over the hull of the Egg Saucer, the wind being just to strong to fight. Over the smoke and debris, she saw the fields of Adabat get closer and closer.

Swallowing some spit, she realized just how pointless this all was. Even if she, somehow, defeated Maria, she was going to fall down there and die. That thought, well, it made Hope cry. She should have been slower, and thought these things through. Instead of going all gung-ho, and trying to fight, she should have let everyone else handle things. Her childish impatience doomed her, and now, well, now all she had to look forward to was fall.

"Ah... Dammit..." Maria groaned from behind.

The blonde hedgehog fell to her knees, as her hand clamped down on her gunshot wound. Now it was affecting her, and she felt weaker with each passing second. The blood from her mouth had not yet fallen, as it was still breaking over her lips.

"Fuck... you... Hope..." she called out, "This is all your fault!"

"My fault!?" she yelled back, her voice cracking from crying, "This is all your fault! You should have just stayed away! None of this would have ever happened!"

"You... denied Shadow... from me! He's rightfully mine..."

"You tried to take him... I... own - Oh! What's the point of this!? We're both gonna die..."

The Egg Saucer began cracking.

Half of the ship started to tear and break, right along where Hope and Maria lied. The frontal end eventually broke off, and started falling sooner than the last. Crashing down into Adabat, it showed just how much more time was left. More importantly, it left both Maria and Hope on the edge of the ship, gazing down to the land below.

"I may die!" Maria yelled, standing up, "But... not before you!"

She grabbed a hold of Hope, who hadn't even tried to put up a resistance, and lifted her above her head. All Hope could do, was think about Shadow, and how childish she was.

Oh... so... childish...

"Put her down, now!"

Not matter what, that voice gave her hope.

In unison, Hope and Maria gazed back. Before them Shadow stood, hands at his waist, as he breathed in and out quickly.

"I'm not, gonna warn you, agin!" he said through gasps, "Put Hope down!"

Maria's glare did nothing but intensify. Still, she had not listened to Shadow's words, and just kept her grip strong.

"MARIA!" Shadow roared, "PUT HOPE DOWN THIS INSTANT!"

That command made her twitch, but she still didn't listen.

"I don't understand you!" she yelled, "How could you yell at me like this!?"

"Stop acting like we're in love! I don't love you, you crazy clone! How dare you desecrate Maria with your... existence!" that shut Maria up, "I don't care who you say your are, or who you act like, or whatever! The bottom line is, _my_ Maria would never act like this! She wouldn't yell at people, or try and take to someone's love from someone else! Maria... she was beautiful, kind, and passionate! You! Well, you're just all kinds of messed up in the head!" he got closer, "I don't know who you are, our where you come from but..." his eyesight intensified, "I could never love someone like you."

Maria coughed up. Violent spurts of her blood fell from her lips, as the grip she held on Hope's body faltered. She shook a bit, twisted, her eyes wavered, and before she knew it, she was falling, Hope in tow. The two didn't get to far, however, as both were suddenly grabbed by Shadow. He held them by their ankles, his grip strong, yet falling. He was too tired, he was too weak. He was loosing his hold.

Hope glared up, err, down, to the land below. It was slowly approaching for what would surely be a fantastic explosion. And Hope wanted to have no part of it.

"Sh-Sh-Shadow!" she called, "Please! Pull me up!"

"Can't!" he growled, grip failing, "Can only hold onto one..."

"Then let her go!" Maria screamed, "Save me! And I promise I will-!"

"Shut it!" he yelled.

"Shadow, what's wrong!?" Hope barked, "Just pull me up!"

He looked to her.

"But if I do, I let Maria fall!"

"Just do it!"

"I CAN'T!" he roared, "I... I just can't let Maria go..."

"That's not Maria! You said it yourself!"

"I know but..." he closed his eyes, "Last time I let go... I forgot things... I can't again..." he looked to Hope, "I can't forget about you... I... I just can't..."

Hope thought about it. Was that really why he couldn't let go of Hope? The mechanic wasn't around when it all happened but, she did remember Rouge telling her how Shadow was amnesic for some time, and how he regained his memories after the whole Black Arms invasion. But still, what did Shadow mean by 'letting go' and what did that mean when it comes to his memories? And was he really just afraid of losing his memories because he'd forget... _her?_

"I don't know what I'd do if I forgot about you, Hope..." he murmured.

"Shadow..." she said, at a lower tone, "Listen Shadow... no matter what, you won't forget I... I... I won't let you!"

Silence...

"You promise?"

"I..." she smiled, "Promise..."

A low, growl exited his lips. Turning over, he faced Maria, who just stared up with fearful eyes.

"Just remember... Maria..." he said it so calm, so loving, so innocent like, "I will always love you..." No... he wasn't speaking to Maria Rivet, he was speaking to Maria Robotnik, "For most of my life... I've just been following your words, following after what you perceived to be right, but... I just can't do that anymore. I'm protecting the world, I'm making sure everything is right but... I just could never be happy, not when I was always thinking about you... but I don't have to think about you, anymore. I have Hope now and... well... I'm not afraid anymore... I'm not afraid of the thought of my friends leaving me... not now, not ever. They'll never leave me. I just have to move on..." his grip lessened, "Sayonara, Maria Robotnik..."

He let go.

Maria tried to hold onto his moving hand, but it was too late. Her wings wouldn't work either, and the bullet wound just made her to weak to attempt anything. So she just fell. Farther and farther down, she went, the land rushing up behind her. Suddenly, she felt her body strain itself. Her wings moved back into her body, while that demonic arm she owned transformed back into its usual hedgehog style. She was loosing conscious, that's why this was happening. Everything was moving so fast and so suddenly before!

THAWM!

She glared up. She could still see it, the strip of Egg Saucer she was just on. All around her, she felt burning stinging pain. Blue eyes moved about, to see that she landed on the other piece of the fallen Egg Saucer. Fire was everywhere, along with smoke, and bent steel. Maria giggled at the sight, though she knew not why. Finally, she gained the strength to look down at her mangled body. Sticking through her, like some sort of blade, was a sharp piece of steel. It was dyed in her red blood, and it was so darn long. With some hidden strength, she touched the blade, only for a burning amount of pain to course through her. She drooled a bit, not saliva but spit. Her blue eyes rolled up into her skull.

She died like that...

Hope could feel the grip around her ankle intensify. Gazing up to Shadow, he started to slowly pull her up. She grabbed a hold of him once he was in arms reach, and never let go. Her grip was so tight and strong, Shadow could feel the wind escape him. But he couldn't push Hope off. Partially because he was too weak too, but even if he could, he wouldn't. Not to Hope. Not in a lifetime.

"Shadow..." she whispered, "How did you..."

"I'm the Ultimate Life form," he answered, "Weak or strong, I win..."

She smiled at that cocky nature of his, and planted a warm kiss on his cheek.

"I love you, Hope Kintobor..."

Though Hope opened her mouth to question him on his words, she just didn't. Instead, she savored those words in her ears. She wasn't sure when would be the next time she heard them.

He suddenly pressed on her waist, and held her up. Glaring forward, he took note of the Black Hawk as it rounded the sky and came toward them. With a mighty leap, he cleared the distance from the falling Egg Saucer, to the Team Dark flag-ship. The top end was open, just for them, and he landed safely inside.

"Good thing I took the time to scan you, Hope," Gemerl commented as they landed, "Or else I would have never been able to fly this thing!"

Suddenly, he started giggling, which caused a series of confused glances to take everyone's face.

"Let's uh... go home..." Shadow stated.

No one said nothing, but all smiled and nodded.

Home... it sounded like a far off idea right now.

The Black Hawk turned around, and faced the dozen or so G.U.N. air ships. The battle was a victory, Eggman's Egg Saucer had fallen, another day went to G.U.N. Despite all of the fighting, it was a beautiful day. The sun was setting right now, showing just how long it took for this battle to start and end. All was good, all was... simple...

But... what of the Black Arms?

Where was... Black Doom?

...

"You... you... TRAITOR!"

Doom's Eye was trapped, in a glass sealed container. Outside, he saw him. That mad doctor with the white mustache. In some pitch dark room, where only Nega knows the location. The only light came from Doom's tube.

"Me? A traitor?" Nega stated, "No, no, no! Doom! You should have known better than to trust a madman like myself! Besides, I knew you were plotting since the beginning to kill me. Let's face it, the Black Arms agenda and my agenda just don't fall align."

"You foolish human! I will break out, and I will kill you! The Black Arms shall rise again!"

"And how do you expect to do that, hmm? If I'm correct, G.U.N. killed the Black Arms Super Soldiers I created, and Maria as well! Once again, the only being on this planet with your blood running though its veins, is Shadow..." Nega smiled, "You've lost, Doom."

"So what, you just used me? Is that it!?"

"Since the very beginning."

"You... YOU!"

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Doom, it was a brilliant plan... well, on my end, at least!" he brought out a test tube, containing some blood, "Once I return to the future, that fool Silver will have to deal with a Black Alien of my own! And I'll make it worth the while," he looked back at Doom, "Don't worry, your legacy will still run... you just won't be around to see it."

"I will kill you! I promise that!"

"Try as you might, Doom." he started chuckling, "I'll come back here in two hundred years or so. If your immortality is any bit as potent as you said it was, then you'll still be alive. Granted, that's if this place is still even up two hundred years from now."

The door in this dark room opened, revealing Metal Sonic 3.0. The machine's red eyes gleamed in a specific pattern, causing Nega to nod.

"Yes, yes, Metal Sonic... we must be on our way."

As he neared the door, he took one last shot at Doom. Turning his head, he grinned like a sadistic bastard, and said,

"Goodnight Doom! Don't let the bed bugs bite!"

And the door closed.


	17. Closing the Door

Closing the Door

"I'm sorry..."

That was so random, and just so out there, Hope had no idea what to say.

Here she stood, wearing her blue jacket. The sun was above her, the beach sands in her toes, the blue oceans behind her. She was so ready to leap into the water and splash about, that Shadow's words seemed to dampen that feeling. So, she turned to him, and faced his eyes with her own.

He was coldly indifferent, as usual. Saying nothing, just gazing. In fact, he wasn't gazing at her. He was just, glaring down, like a dog who's disappointed its master. That's what he felt like.

"Shadow..." Hope answered, "What are you talking about?"

He remained nonchalant, as usual. It never mattered to Shadow. They could have been celebrating a victory, and he would have kept his thoughts on the bad. He was just like that. But not today, Hope refused to allow him to be, Mr. Unsmiley, today.

"Shadow, I can't stand it when you do this!" she said, voice raising a bit, "What are you talking about? Why are you apologizing."

His ruby eyes snapped to her so suddenly, causing her to lock up quickly. Raising his hand, he started to rub the new silver inhibitor rings given to him. The sight of it made his lips curl into a smile, before that usual indifferent scowl returned.

"I... just needed to apologize."

"Apologize for what, Shadow?" she questioned.

"For... what I did... for the... betrayal, should I say..." he looked away, "The way I hurt you... well... it killed me, on the inside..."

Finally, he gained the strength to stand. Those eyes of his looked to her, then back to the sands. He wasn't wearing any shoes, so when he stepped off from his chair, he felt the burning sensation of small individual dusts particles shuffle between his toes. For now, he would ignore it.

"Hope..." Showing weakness like this, it wasn't something he enjoyed doing, "I... I... I understand if you never forgive me, or even if you want to... I could never forgive myself... So... I just needed to say... I'm sorry..."

His arms crossed, as they wont to do, and he glared down, eyes closed.

"Your right, Shadow," her response was, "I... couldn't forgive you..."

There was a slight frown from her words, but he nodded nonetheless.

"Not because of the cheating... which, from what I've heard, you never did... I can't forgive you unless you forgive yourself." she looked to the ground, and her toe started to groove the sands, "Shadow... yes... I was hurt by you but... after all that's happened, I guess you can't be the one to blamed. I know that under normal circumstances, you wouldn't cheat, not in a thousand years. What hurts me the most right now is the fact that you can't forgive yourself. You know it was all Maria's fault and... well..." she gazed up to him. His face was busy studying her's in such a close way, it made her blush, "Shadow... maybe I'm letting you off easy with this one, but... I guess... well... I love you too much." she smiled, "Besides, you said the magic words earlier..."

"And..." he gave a smile, one filled with hope, "What might that be?"

There was a certain gleam that appeared in Hope's eyes. A gleam that had been missing since all this mess began. A shine noticeable in all those that love. Gone were those dull eyes, here were these shining blue ones.

"I believe they were 'I love you Hope Kintobor'."

Shadow raised an eyebrow at the words, while his smile turned to an indifferent line. Laying a finger on his muzzle, he let out noises reminiscent of a person thinking.

"Really?" he questioned, "No... I don't seem to remember saying those words..."

"Hey!" Hope yelled, grabbing him, "Don't make such jokes Shadow! It took me a long time to get you to admit those words!"

He chuckled dementedly, as he saw his lover's face turn red with anger. But that anger was offset by this kind of happiness that is hard to find in people. He moved in slowly, and brushed his lips against hers. That simple action devolved into so much more. He moved apart Hope's lips, and slithered his tongue into her, causing her eyes to close. She felt his pink muscle poke and prod hers, and it sent an electrical pulse up her body. She moaned to the feel. Boy, this was one thing she forgot she missed.

"I do love you, Hope Kintobor." he whispered, after breaking their kiss.

"I... love you, Shadow the hedgehog..."

"And... I guess I can forgive myself... as long as you can."

She smiled.

"Good... and that's the last I wanna hear about it..." suddenly she pulled from her, a great grin on her lips, "Now! Let's go! I just helped take down a giant flying saucer! I'm gonna have some fun!"

She turned around and sprinted, but stopped half way there. Spinning back around, she looked at Shadow, who just gazed at her, dumbfounded.

"Shadow!" she yelled, "Come on! I'm not getting in alone!"

His hand cocked at an angle for a brief second, while her words ran through his mind.

For once in his life, he felt really lucky.

"Fine..." he stated with his usual indifference, "I'll appease your childish nature."

He rubbed his naked hands a bit, before shifting his attention to the swimming trunks around his waist. As Hope pulled off her jacket to show her two piece swimming suit, Shadow's ears twitched.

"Yeah... childish nature..."

As he ran up to meet her, she threw out her arms in a way of embrace.

Ah, love... it's so pure, no matter the kind.

Just watching them frolic and play... it made you forget about the huge flying saucer crashed right behind them.

...

So... A few months later...

"Shadow?" Hope said, eyes barely open, "Shadow..."

She pulled herself up. Arms stretching out, she let forth a much-needed yawn. She felt quasi miserable today. Last night was such a hard sleep, and Shadow's constant shedding didn't make things better. Ugh, that was the one thing about winter she despised.

"Shadow!" she called out, showing a hint of rage, "Where are you..."

The door slid open. Wagging his finger in a playful manner, he caused the girl's mood to drop.

"It took you long enough... Hurry up, get dressed, I have something to show you..."

She cocked her head.

"What time is it?"

"Seven AM..."

"Then this had better be good..."

She shuffled out the bed, sending her toes dangling over the side. Standing up, she quickly replaced her dingy night clothing, with something more... winter worthy. She would have done the usual ritual of morning washing up, but if Shadow had her awake so early, she figured it was important. So, after putting on something puffy and warm, she exited their room with tired eyes.

"Finally," Shadow said, tapping his foot, "You know, you can be slow sometimes..."

"Don't start Shadow! What is it you have me awake for?"

His arms crossed over one another, while a devilish smile came to his lips.

"Just hurry up!" he said, instead.

He quickly disappeared in his trademark speed, causing Hope to growl in anger. But instead of going back to bed, like she wanted to do, she trekked off. Passing a few windows showed just how snow-covered the city of Night Babylon was. One knows its bad when Rouge herself has to close down to club.

Yeah... it was _that_ bad. And not one person was on the roads right now, revealing nothing but a frozen metropolis.

Hope eventually made her way to Club Rouge's parking lot, where her dark lover was nonchalantly leaning against a G.U.N. Armored Vehicle. Once she arrived, he took his eyes off of the black car, and to her.

"Finally," he stated, "What kept you?"

"Not now Shadow! You know how I get so early in the morning."

"Yeah, yeah..."

He quickly slipped into the G.U.N. vehicle's driver seat, and cranked the engine. After a few minutes, ya'know to let the car get warm, Hope got in too. She was still tired, however, and gave off a few yawns.

They drove for what felt like an eternity, and every time Hope wanted to get a wink of sleep, Shadow shook her awake again. He was being so cruel, she felt, so whatever he wanted to show her must have been amazing. When she realized they left Night Babylon, and had arrived at the snow-covered streets of Westopolis, she was sure it was big. Somehow, the sight of the city made Hope feel both apprehensive and impatient.

They drove a for a few more minutes, before coming to a stop at a lone hill. This area was separated from all the others, as it sort of gazed over the entire city. There were signs of construction in the area, but oddly enough, there was nothing else here. Only a road that connected to Westopolis, and went far off somewhere in the distance. Hope was really confused now.

"Shadow..." she said, "Where are we?"

"You'll see..." he motioned.

he car turned off, and he quickly shuffled out the door, leaving Hope alone. After a few minutes of mental preparation, she finally got out of the car as well. She moved through the snowing mounds, came to the side of the hill they had parked on, then stopped. Her heart was racing, and for reasons she did not know. So, after a second or two of more preparation, she turned past the hill. And there Shadow was... in front of...

A house...

It wasn't to big, nor was it small. Had a nice walkway leading up to its porch, and it looked old. Like, it had been forgotten by even time itself. What was it doing here? More importantly, what was _she_ doing here?

"Hope?" Shadow said, gaining her attention, "You... dazed off there for a bit... you okay?"

To be honest, she wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel.

"Sh-Shadow... did you?"

"Not yet..." he answered, already know her question, "I... felt as if... well... sharing a home with a bat and robot didn't necessarily give us the most privacy so... I thought you'd might like a -"

He couldn't finish his words, as he suddenly felt her in his arms. The two collapsed into the snow, where Hope dug her face into his chest. She didn't care how cold the snow was right now, she just felt so...

Complete...

"Oh, Shadow. Its... Its!... Perfect..."

"You haven't even seen inside yet..." he answered.

"I don't need too..." she answered, "As long as you're going to be there..."

She didn't care how campy or silly that sounded. It was the only way she could articulate her words.

"C'mon," Shadow said, getting her to her feet, "Let me show you what's inside."

Hand in hand, they walked off for that home. Shadow's face its usual indifferent scowl, while Hope's face was brimming with happiness.

Truly, there's was a love that happened only once in a life time.

...

I felt bad, ya'know... sending them through all of this. I really, _really_, felt bad.

Baaaaaaaaddddddddddd...

But alas, they persevered, they learned, they stayed together.

They remained in love.

Why bother?

Ugh... I can't even think straight.

There's this... blasted steel pole going inside of me, and out the other end. It's dyed in my blood. Heh, heh... Owww... It hurts so much, I can't even think straight. My mind keeps going to Shadow, and Hope, and that word... _clone_.

Am I really a clone? Was I really just a clone of Hope? No... that's impossible... I... No... Daddy would have told me, right? Right?

Right?

I guess wrong cause... here I am, dying.

Dying...

Dying...

Daddy's not here... he left already. What a... bad Daddy...

Why haven't I died yet? I just keep staring up, and up, and up. And up... And up... And up...

Ah... The night sky... it's so...

Beautiful...

AH! IT STINGS!

And the worst part is, I can't do anything about it. I can't move anymore, only think. Its like, being in a coma, but still being active, ya'know? I must be a vegetable, yeah, that's it. And it sucks cause... cause...

"Doctor? Look at this..."

That voice sounds so familiar, like... _his_... Shadow? Has my darling Shadow returned to me?

"I don't care about that!" Ah, that voice sounds like Daddy's! "I need to find out who made this 'Egg Saucer!' That was my idea, and who ever stole it is a thief!"

I can hear the footsteps getting closer, and closer! I... I hope its Shadow! Its getting closer! I can hear him breathing! Oh, I can't wait! He's... he's nearing my eyesight!

...

...

...

Wait... that's not Shadow. I mean, he looks like him, exactly like him but... his streaks... they are the wrong color. This man before me. His streaks are gold, not red.

"Wow..." But boy does he sound like Shadow, "She's so beautiful! Wait... are you alive?"

Oh, I need to talk back! I have to say something. He looks like Shadow, he even sounds like him!

"Ack!"

Ouch... saying that was tooooooooo much...

His face brightened up at the noise of my words. As if, powered by some hidden vigor, he grabbed the metal pole sticking through me. His voice growled a bit, as he tugged on that pole with all his might. Meanwhile, I was going through some intense pain because of it. I made no noises, however, probably because I was just to weak to articulate my pain. Yeah, that cry from earlier was just pure luck.

This... not Shadow, pulled with all his might on that pole, and eventually, he tore it from my body. I could see my own blood fly because of it, and it made me sick to my stomach. Of course, I couldn't say anything, so I just stared. This not Shadow pulled me up a second later. So soft, and light was his touch, he must have known just how fragile I was.

"You... you look just like... Maria..." he whispered, I could have died at those words.

I see now... I could just, tell...

We were... _made _for each other.

"Doctor, I have something you may find... interesting..."

Finito

* * *

_And so yet another one._

_Yes, this may feel quick and what not, but this is the end of Shadows of Maria. If this feels rushed, then all I have to say is I'm sorry. This is my first sequel, ya'know, so cut me some slack. But, seriously, this is the end. I'm gonna do a bonus chapter, like I did with Shadows of Hope, but this is it, as surprising as that sounds. Maybe I was a bit rushed when it came to this story, but when it comes to me and writing, I never what a story to over stay its welcome. What I'm trying to say is, I don't want to make my story go on and on with an increasingly terrible plot if it's not necessary._

_So, to top off the end of this story, I shall share with you some in the closet things, and other hooplah, cause, ya'know, I tend to do that._

_First off, the story itself. When I started it, I wanted it to be a bit more romantic. Honestly though, I feel like I kind of missed it. I feel like I did better in the first story than I did with this one. Maybe its because I got side-tracked, and started focusing on character development for Hope, instead of actual romance but... whatever. I do love this story for its drama, however. Especially the first few chapters. My favorite chapter in this is, by far, Regret, because, ya'know, its intense. I might right a story that's all drama, no adventure, next time, because this story kind of went on with its adventure aspects. Any way!_

_Now, let me say my thanks! First, I wanna say thanks to Chad Doe, Reclaimer7, and a very special thanks to TheDivines, who reviewed on every single last chapter of mine. Seriously, I don't know how I can thank you guys enough. Also, thanks to my favoriters, followers, and other reviewers. I'm here to please, just remember that._

_So story elements. How I had things in my head, it ended up right here in this story. Unlike a lot of my other stories that had different kinds of endings, or different kinds of things happening, this one stayed the exact same way from my mind, to the paper. The only difference I can think up off the top of my head is Doom. In my original version, Doom was supposed to become this huge half robot half Black Arms version of the Devil Doom. I didn't use that idea though, mainly because I wanted this story to focus on Shadow, Hope, and Maria Rivet. In those last chapters, I think I nailed that... if you ask me, of course. _

_That reminds me about the end. I'm sorry about all that sequel bait I left you all with. Ya'know, the Eggman Nega returning to the future with some Black Arms blood, and Shadow Androids discovery of a still living Maria Rivet, not to mention that sea of clones Rouge and Omega discovered. That's bound to be a doosy. Will I make a sequel? Well, I doubt it. If I do, maybe not for a while. I'd plan on doing a sequel to Casscadian Kings first. But who knows? If people want it enough, I'll gladly give it to them._

_Now, off to bigger and better things._

_Maverick Kay Prime_

_And yes, I will make a bonus Chapter. What can I say? I'm a giving kind of guy!_


	18. Just Can't Keep Still

_Okay well... Hmmmm... how do I go about this... well..._

_I suppose I should do this. This last, bonus chapter, is nothing but a lemon. I wish I could say this in a lighter way, because I don't want to associate myself with straight up smut but... yeah... Like last time, this chapter doesn't need to be read, the last chapter was the ending. This is just a nice little bonus chapter, so... yeah..._

_I primarily wanted to write this so I could get my feet wet in this... well, adult works. It may not be the best, but I think its pretty good. Does this mean I'm going to write nothing but porn? Well, though that thought has gone through my mind (and probably every other man's mind), no. This was primarily so I can get the hang of things. I hope I did well._

_Warning, lemons be ahead..._

_No, like seriously. If you don't like this kind of stuff, I recommend you turn back._

_Hey! Don't be leaving hateful reviews if this isn't what you want! I gave fair warning!_

* * *

I Just Can't Keep Still

So... this was it...

She shuffled her feet up in the bed. Hugging close her knees, she just peered off into the distance of the room. The darkness in the room was offset by a simple dim light, one that just barely added life to the room. There was nothing much to this property yet, despite the fact that they had been living in it for some few months. This room, _their room_, looked pretty naked and empty. The only thing inside was a few drawers, and a few books placed about. It hadn't started feeling like home yet, well, she didn't feel like it did.

He was in the bathroom, freshening up for the coming deed. Today would be the day, she was sure of it. No Rouge, no Omega, and hopefully no demonic invasion planning on ending the world. Nope, it was just them. Just her and her lover. Just them... just... them...

Oh boy, she was so scared, so apprehensive. At any moment, he was going to enter the room, and he was going to take her, and maker her his. As if, they didn't already belong each others, but now just on a different level. Ugh, the tension was killing her. She just couldn't wait, she just... couldn't. She was fidgeting about so quickly, and so rapidly, her heart was racing. When would things start? When would they end? Would it be just as great as she used to dream it would be? Would it? Was this the real reason why Shadow bought this home? Just so they could be alone? Just so they could...

Her mind just couldn't parse together that information. It refused to.

There was an audible click in the room, one that caused Hope to close her eyes. She heard the bathroom door open and close, and his footsteps clear the way toward the bed. Now she was scared. Her fidgety nature had been quickly replaced with a still, silent one. She heard him crawl on the bed, could feel the depression because of it, and felt his body eventually come in contact with hers.

His lips brushed alongside her cheek, immediately causing a flush of red to take her.

"Shadow..." she whispered.

His kisses stopped, and her eyes came open.

There he was, before her. Shadow the hedgehog. Head cocked at an angle, ruby eyes gazing into hers, his usual indifferent scowl on his face. All those attributes she loved of his. And he was just staring.

"Hope?" he murmured, "Is there something wrong?"

She shook her head in a no manner, but her actions belied her real feelings. Something unhappy was driving her, and she wasn't sure what it was.

"Hey, Shadow... I need to get myself something to drink... could you just wait a bit?"

He nodded slowly, his hands moved away, and he freed her from his grasp. That slight action made her feel a bit cold. Still, she removed herself from their bed, shuffled on her night-time slippers, and made her way out of the room.

Gone were those marble walls and marble floors of Rouge's mansion, and here were these brown wood ones. This place was so much smaller than what she had been accustomed too, and she was just learning the layout. So, with the noise of creaking wood edging her forward, she eventually came to the home's stairs. It didn't take her to long to get to the kitchen, as this home was small enough. But she didn't care. As small as it was, it was filled with love. Love...

Love...

Her hand found a cup, and a nice cold bottle of water. Pouring herself a glass, she watched it flow and flow. Her skin had this odd balance of cold and warmth going on within it. The freezing touch of the water only helped her balance things out.

Was she really about to do this? Was she really about to go upstairs, return to bed, and do the deed that she herself had wanted? Why now? Why did she feel so wrong and messed up right now? She felt so sure before, but now, she felt as if she weren't ready. As if, she was some kind of child. What would the others say? What would everyone else say once they figured out what she had done? Ugh... a human and a mobian, that's what they would say. Once again, she had that image of people looking down upon her, and she despised it. It... it sorta made her hate herself. But what was it that Shadow would say, in this point in time?

_Don't care for others, but me..._

Yeah... that's what he would say. She remembered that. On the ferris wheel, over a year ago. After everything was said and done...

She took another sip of the cold water.

It may have been a year, and two adventures, but Hope _still_ felt unsure of herself. She just felt, as if, she was wrong with this all. It had to have been her blood. Anyone connected to those blasted Robotniks were bound to hate mobians, it was a fact of life. But she just couldn't help but to love them, and most specifically, Shadow. Then why couldn't she do this? Why couldn't she just go up to him, and do what they both wanted?

Oh, her brain was hurting, and this cold water really wasn't helping. She felt wrong, oh so wrong. So, patting down her night shorts, she took a seat at the lone table in the kitchen. More and more the water disappeared, before the cup was empty. She knew she couldn't stay down here forever, Shadow would get impatient. And she really didn't want to keep him waiting. But her mind was still in turmoil, she still wasn't sure what to do.

So she sat there, gazing into the darkness of her new home, in silence.

She remembered hearing it then. The door opening upstairs, the noise of footsteps to follow, the sound of them making their way down the stairs. She remembered how, out the corner of her eye, she saw Shadow. Standing at the entryway, wearing nothing but night pants and his inhibitor rings. How he walked up to her, brushed a few strands of blonde from her eyes. How he kissed her. And that one, simple kiss, was filled with more passion than she ever figured. It sent goosebumps through her body, goosebumps she never felt before. It easily calmed her spirit of the toils within.

It was over, her mind was set. After Shadow's kiss subsided, she took his hand. Their eyes looked into one another for a good few seconds, with neither saying anything. They didn't have to. Their orbs did all the talking for them.

Shadow took charge then. His grip on her hand tightened, but not in a forceful way. No, with so much love and tender kindness, was this touch. Up the stairs they went, and back into their room. The door was locked behind them. No reason, as no one would come. Still, it just felt... correct...

She fell back on the bed, and her face blushed up. Gone was that unsure feeling, and here was this timidness. She didn't know what to do, or how to go about things. She was so scared.

And Shadow. He still had that indifferent scowl, even as he crawled the bed to be atop her. Her childishness was offset by his stone cold resolve.

Here it was. This was how things were going to begin. This was going to be...

Her very, first, time...

And no, it wasn't with a mobian. That didn't matter anymore. This was going to be, with the man she loved.

There were no words that needed to be exchanged, no warnings, no nothing. He just started kissing her. As their mouths were in sync, his hands were freed from the bed around her. Instead, they found their way to her shoulders, where they started to caress them. But this wasn't in the usual, loving manner, no, this was more sensual, more intense. Eventually, the white t-shirt she wore was rolled up a bit, showing her shoulder. His thumb moved up and down her flawless skin, causing an unintentional moan to exit her lips. That must have done something, as their kiss ended shortly after. Instead, Shadow found something else to kiss, as his lips met her skin.

Along her shoulder, he kissed her, causing such a strange sensation to move through Hope. She wasn't sure how she should be feeling. So, with eyes closed, she just focused on those kisses he was giving her. They felt so warm, but they were so quick. And somehow, that made her feel so loved, so needed. Yeah, Shadow _needed_ her.

"Ahhhh..."

She didn't know why she made that noise. The kisses were just something she couldn't handle, or maybe, they were just something she was prepared for. Why did they feel so good though? Why did she feel so new, and wanted, because of them? What was so different about these kisses, that made her feel different? What was so new?

"I like that noise you make..." he suddenly whispered, his voice netting her.

What voice was he speaking of? That moan, from earlier? Was that what he was talking about? It must have been, because his touches made her want to moan again.

His hands were working in sync, while his mouth worked on her neck. One of his hands glided up and down her leg, causing such a strange, new, sensation to rocket through her. His other hand met her flat tummy, and started to caress it sensually.

So this was happening. Never before had Shadow touched her like this. Sure, he may have slid his hand up her sides, and even her thigh before, but never her stomach, never like this. The way his fingers danced up and down her body, and especially the way they smoothed along her naval, it made her, well... it was hard to explain but... If she could stand in the epicenter of a rocket exploding into space, well, those rumbles equated the ones she was feeling now.

And this was just the beginning.

He lifted her leg, and slid it alongside his body. She didn't know why but, she just clamped onto him with that leg. Through his kisses, he heard him growl, but not in anger, instead in some form of lust. He liked that touch.

The hand he had on her stomach started to slowly move up, covering more ground on her body. Up, and up, and up, it went being so slow, and so methodical. It was like he was teasing her, for the way his hands moved up, it made her want more. It made her want... him...

"Shadow..." she said, her voice in a begging manner.

Once again, her words earned her a growl, one that sent vibrations through his body. Maybe her little, whimpering call, worked, as almost immediately, Shadow did something that made her gasp.

His hand, was cupping her breast. The touch was so sudden, it made her eyes open up, and gaze down. Though her night-shirt was not see through, she could still make out the impression of his hand on her. His fingers, they squeezed and tightened against her, causing herself to gasp at the touch. Never before had she experienced such a touch. His finger's, they seemingly touched her in all the right ways. Not too soft, but not too hard. If she knew how good these touches were, then she would have... well...

He pinched her. Another gasp exited her lips, before they melted into a low, long moan. His constant squeezing, and prodding of her nipples, caused them to harden, which, honestly, was a feeling she never felt before. It was... different... it was... good...

"Do you like that, Hope?" he questioned, his voice holding a certain kind of maliciousness in it.

She couldn't answer him, as her panting pretty much ruined any of that. So, instead, he chuckled lowly, and with a hefty growl to accompany it. He squeezed her breast, causing her to moan, while his fingers continued to play with her hard pink nipples. Somehow, all of this, caused her to breathe in and out heavily, as if her body couldn't handle what was being done to it. And yet, she was left... wanting. She could still feel the belief that he was only teasing her. Like, he was getting her ready for something. Ugh, she didn't enjoy this feeling. The intricacies of sex would forever be a mystery.

Now he was working.

Over both breasts, she felt his hands. They moved, groped, and touched her, in ways she couldn't comprehend. If Shadow enjoyed her moans, he was really hearing them now, as she pretty much filled the room with them. These touches were just too much for her, just too much. At the same time, the mechanic both wanted it to stop, and didn't want it to stop. She was sure her mind would be lost if this continued.

But suddenly, his hands left her. They slid back up out of her shirt, and left her wanting more. So did his kisses, they just... stopped. Her eyes looked up to him, while he just sat above, glaring down with his ruby eyes. He said nothing, and she said nothing. They just... stared at each other. And then he kissed her.

On the lips, parting her mouth with force, he did. She felt his tongue enter her mouth, and tasted it. So spicy, was his love. But as they kissed, his hands were free to roam about. She felt them, those claws of his, dig down on her night shorts, and slowly start to bring them down. She wanted to move away from his kiss, as if to say no but... she just couldn't. Those kiss intoxicated her, and dulled her senses down a bit, making her feel calm.

Yeah... she really was putty in his hands.

That's when she felt a cold air around her waist. Finally gaining the strength to break past Shadow's kiss, she gazed down to her waist. She was... naked... save for the shirt on her right now.

Her mouth opened to gasp and, probably even scream, but his index finger stopped her. Still, there was that fidgeting fear, spiraling through her. But that face of his. That indifferent stoic, visage. Well... it felt different as of now. Sure, it remained there but... it quickly melted away into a small smile. That smile... it calmed her down. But as he moved away from her face, and closer down to her waist, well... she closed her eyes.

Her hands found her face too, as if she was just trying to shut out every inch of light. All of it this was so new and so strange that... she just wanted to sit and think a bit. But damn if she wasn't aroused. As much as she wanted to stop, and call herself silly for thinking this, she couldn't help but to want more. Her mind screamed for both things but, that lust just barely won out. That... lust...

Wait... what was this...

Her eyes sprang open, and she felt some electric surge rush through her. As if, pleasure itself had stabbed her. She felt so good for no reason but, she couldn't help but to scream out in this lust. What was this that was happening to her?

Her eyes closed again, and she started to calm herself down. That's when she could feel it. Something, wiggling about inside of her. Warm breathing, happening against her nether regions, and this most euphoric of feelings. That wiggling, it snaked its way out, and started to line against her womanhood, causing it to throb. She had a mind of what was happening, but it wasn't until her eyes opened up that she took note.

She slowly moved her eyes down. Beyond that ridge of her shirt, and to... his bobbing head. He was so focused on what he was doing, his eyes were closed, and his mouth was on her. Working this most different of magic.

But she couldn't believe it. Was this something that happened in sex? Was being licked... _down there_, something couples did for enjoyment? And if so, why? But damn if that didn't feel so good! With each passing second, she felt her body rise and rise. It was like, this most pleasurable of volcanoes, was roaring through her body. And all of it centered around that one point. And then, she felt herself tighten. She couldn't explain it but, she needed to relieve some of this tension inside of her. She grabbed onto the sheets around her, bit her bottom lip, moaned out in pleasure and, and! AND!

Well, honestly, she wasn't sure what happened next. She felt like an explosion went off, and was replaced with warm, slumbering, murmurs. When her eyes finally opened back up, gone was that feeling of euphoria, replacing here were these gasps for breath, and heavy panting. She got the energy to gaze down, where she saw Shadow. His hand was dragging against his mouth though, for reasons she didn't explain. Or better yet, she didn't want to know.

"What... was... that...?"

Funny, that was her first words since this all started. Her voice was so rigid sounding, and coarse, like she had went all day without water. Maybe her body was exaggerating things a bit but... _daaaaaaaammmmmn!_

Shadow chuckled. He found her words to be so cute, so childish. Honestly, he had no idea how he was supposed to respond to them. So, instead, he wagged his finger.

"I'm just happy I could make you feel better..." he responded, "Now..."

Slowly, his hands found his own night pants. Hope was mesmerized by the sight, as she watched him slowly, but surely, etch them down and down. What was Shadow about to do that required him to be naked? But that was a foolish question, as she knew all to well what he was about to do.

"No... Shadow..." she whispered, fear so obvious in her voice.

"Don't worry..." he responded, "I'll be gentle..."

As loving, as comforting, as assuring as that voice was, she still felt so scared. So, her eyes closing, she let out a few, low whimpers. This was going to happen, she knew it. She wanted it to happen, she would dream about this happening, but now... now she felt so unsure. So... _childish_...

But no, she couldn't act childish, not anymore. She abandoned that demeanor long ago. She was going to be woman about this.

"This is going to hurt a bit... so... bear with me on this..."

She chuckled.

"I'll be the judge of that..."

His hand found her waist, and he started to pull her forth. Once again, eyes closing, she just waited for the love to happen. The noise of clothes falling entered her ears, causing her body to shudder a bit. And after a few seconds of nothing... she felt something...

It touched her southern entrance, and all amounts of bravado she had immediately left her. She wanted desperately to scream out, and say no but... she couldn't. The words wouldn't come out. That sensation of something prodding her womanhood continued too. It rubbed her up and down, before she felt it slowly start to enter. Whatever it was, it was big, and it etched her apart, causing her to gasp in pain.

This was a bad idea. Whatever was going to happen, she was sure it wouldn't be pleasurable. Then why, why did people do it so? Why did they enjoy sex if it hurt so much? Was everyone in the world a sadomachosist? Where was the pleasure she was supposed to obtain from this? And... whatever that thing was going into her, it kept moving! Did Shadow not see the pain she was going through? Did he not take note of her contorted face, fighting off tears? Did he? Or did he not care?

She wanted to yell at him, but his mouth silenced her attempts. Giving her a strong and passionate kiss, he quickly dulled her senses, causing her to return to that wanting demeanor. But what he was about to give her would be different and new.

She felt her womanhood being stretched further and further apart. Those gasps of pain she let out were slowly mixing in with panting, as she bit her lip. As that _thing_ moved its way deeper and deeper, she increased the pressure she had on her lip. If this continued, she was sure she would puncture herself. But then, that big thing inside of her, that was stretching her so far apart stopped. Hope let out her breath at the release, and started to pant again. She felt Shadow move closer to her, and lay his chest against hers.

And then...

There was this thrust. This sudden, quick, powerful thrust, that came directly from Shadow. Hope felt something. She felt something inside of her tear and break like... _like_... Well, whatever it was, it hurt. It hurt like hell. It hurt so hard but... Hope kept her mouth shut. Instead, she started crying. The pain was just so much, she let forth those tears she was holding back. She didn't sob though, instead remaining silent, as those tears moved down and down her red cheeks.

"Shadow..." she said, voice raspy, "Take it out... whatever it is... take it out..."

Never again. Never again...

She felt that thing inside her pull out, but it didn't entirely leave her. Rather, as soon as the tip reach the end, it slid its way back inside. Whatever that thing was just moved right back in, but with a bit more ease. Hope groaned. She wasn't feeling good, and whatever Shadow was doing wasn't making her feel any better. She wanted to yell at him, but that thing did it again. It slid out, reached the edge, then slid right back in. Hope yelped at that, while her rage started to dull. It happened again, of course. The thing inside her, meeting the end, only to move back in. But now, it was starting to gain its pace. It slid out, faster this time, then slid back in. Hope ceased her yelping, instead started groaning. Once again, it pulled back, even faster, then moved back in. Groans were thus replaced with moans. Now, it started to move in and out, at a steady pace. Not to fast, not to slow, just right. Rage was gone, so was pain. Here was pleasure.

She moaned over and over again, as he filled her up with his length. Yes, she knew it now. She knew it. They were... complete... they were... _one_... She had him now, she and only she! No one else! Not Maria, or Rouge, or anyone! He was hers, and hers alone! And she... she was his... and his alone...

Shadow started to growl again. The grip he held on her started to tighten, and she was sure he was reaching his tip. His thrusting had actually sped up because of this, and Hope could feel herself being filled over and over again, at such quick speeds. His member, it reached deeper and deeper inside of her, reaching areas of her moist cavern she never thought possible. That growl of his continued too, as his face started to harden itself. That was in direct contrast to Hope, as she was so wanting, her lips constantly expelling moans and pants.

This was it! This was that wonderful moment that showed nothing but love. Yes, love. Love...

_ Love..._

His drive ceased but... it wasn't over. With one powerful thrust, he reached into her.

1...

He pulled out again, before delivering another one of those thrust. This one reached in deeper than the last.

2...

His growling grew in intensity. He pulled back, growled louder, and then... right inside!

3...

But unlike the last two thrusts, he stayed there. His growling melted away, and... well...

_Magic..._

...

"I really do love you... Shadow..."

The sun was out and about. The time was probably around twelve PM, quite possibly the latest they've ever slept. But, from what they did last night, that was expected. Everyone was probably already going about their daily business, while the two lovers sat in their kitchen, preparing to do their own. Hope, in her usual night-shirt and pants, while Shadow, already had his gloves and shoes on.

Her words came out of nowhere, so it was expected of him to cough a bit. Pulling his lips from his mug of coffee, he glared to her. Her face was brighter than usual, no doubt the effects of their tryst from last night. She looked cuter with that glowing face in fact. And yet, it made Shadow wonder if his own face looked that glowing and radiant.

It was, needless to say, a thought he didn't want in his head.

"I... uh... love you too, Hope..." he answered, returning his gaze to his coffee.

She let out a giggle, as her lover's face flushed a quick red. Lifting a spoon to her lips, she quietly munched on her breakfast, her eyes never leaving Shadow's face. He just sat there, sipping on his coffee, his eyes on the newspaper in his hand, with not a care in the world. And Hope was so mesmerized by it.

"So... about last night..." she whispered, a devilish smile coming to her lips.

Almost immediately, Shadow's eyes snapped to her. Peering burning holes into her, her shook his head in a slow way.

"Ya'know, Hope..." he said, putting his mug down, "It's not too adult to talk about what happens behind closed doors."

Hope pouted a lip, but not in an annoyed manner, instead in a playful manner.

"Awwww, is someone a bit insecure?" she teased.

"Me? No! No!" he said, whilst shaking his head, "No... Still... you know how you get by people's prying eyes."

"Oh please! After last night! I don't care what anyone says! I can scream it to the heavens."

"Yeah... we'll see how much of that bravado remains after we leave..." his eyes moved back to his newspaper, "Now... enough of this... sex talk..."

"So, uh..." her voice grew sultry, "Will we get to do again? Tonight, maybe?"

His ears twitched, and his muzzle turned red. Growing a bit flustered, he opened his mouth to talk, but a sudden buzzing from his glove interrupted him.

Duty calls...

"Get ready Hope," he ordered, "We're needed..."

While nodding, a smile came to her face.

"Just give me a few! I'll get ready by then!"

"Yeah right..."

At the same time, they got up from the desk. And in a brief moment, their lips met. Just a simple peck, was all it was.

"So... do you think any one will notice what we did?"

"If you keep smiling like that they will."


End file.
